Bentley Motors today releases details of the new Continental GT Speed – the most dynamic road car in Bentley’s 101 year history and ultimate performance-focused interpretation of the world’s benchmark luxury Grand Tourer. Designed, engineered, developed and handcrafted in Bentley’s carbon neutral luxury automotive factory, this new third-generation model builds on a long tradition of Speed variants. Originally introduced with the highly-acclaimed, first generation Continental GT Speed in 2007 – itself inspired by the 3-Litre Speed models of the 1920s. The latest GT Speed continues the bloodline by representing the ultimate combination of luxury and performance in a Grand Touring package.
It's been a great time to be selling really, really expensive cars.
"I've been in this business 40 years and I've never seen it like this," said Brian Miller, president of Manhattan Motors, a high-end dealership that sells Bentleys, Lamborghinis and Bugattis, among other ultra-luxury brands.
While auto sales as a whole have suffered from factory shutdowns and other disruptions due to the pandemic, sales of super-expensive cars, like Ferraris, Bentleys and Lamborghinis, finished 2020 at a blistering pace.
In the United States, overall passenger car sales were down 10% last year compared to 2019. Even as auto sales recovered strongly in the fourth quarter, they only just matched the pace seen in the fourth quarter of 2019, said Tyson Jominy, vice president for data analytics at J.D. Power.
But sales of cars costing more than $80,000 were almost double in the fourth quarter what they had been the year before. And for cars costing more than $100,000, sales in the US were up 63% that quarter, said Tyson Jominy, vice president for data analytics at J.D. Power.
"There's a fairly fantastic wealth effect going on," Jominy added.
The booming stock market has played a big part, he said. And since the wealthy haven't been able to spend money on trips, many have turned to luxury goods, like expensive cars.
Customers often order these cars to their exact specifications and wait months for them to be built, Miller said. But he often keeps some on hand to sell to those who want to drive out in their new Rolls-Royce or Lamborghini that day. That's just not possible right now, he said. He can't keep the cars on the lot.
Miller credits the boom, in part, to people sitting around with not much else to do but look at expensive cars on the Internet.
One of the more remarkable things about the run-up in sales, said Jominy, is that it has been largely young buyers driving the wave. "[T]he rich Millennial tech employee in Austin is now the archetype," he said.

Lamborghini had its second best year ever in 2020 in terms of sales and turned its highest profit ever.
Record sales and 'instant growth'
Bentley, the 101-year-old ultra-luxury car brand, had its best year ever last year, despite the pandemic totally shutting down its factory in Crewe, England, for seven weeks. Even after the factory reopened, it was running at half its normal pace for nine more weeks, said Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark in an interview with CNN Business.
Still, Bentley sold 11,206 cars and SUVs last year — just over 100 more vehicles than in 2019, which had already been a record year.
China was also especially big for Bentley, with sales there growing by about 50%, Hallmark said. The redesigned Flying Spur sedan was an especially big hit, he said. That model had been absent from the market while the factory changed over to the new version, which came out at the end of 2019.
"When it came, it was like a desert that got rain and all the flowers popped up," Hallmark said. "Instant growth with a product that is normally more than 30% of [Bentley's] volume."
Lamborghini, meanwhile, had its most profitable year ever in 2020 and its second best sales year in the brand's history. Only in 2019 were more Lamborghinis sold. For the whole year, the exotic automaker sold 7,430 cars and SUVs, down 9.5% compared to 2019. But the last quarter of 2020 was the best in the Italian supercar maker's history and its order banks are already filled for the first nine months of 2021, Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann said.
Both Bentley and Lamborghini are owned by Volkswagen AG.
Sales at Ferrari were down about 10% for the year, including a seven week factory shutdown. But the automaker set records for sales and revenue in the fourth quarter. Orders for future cars are also at record levels, the company announced.
Not all high-end automakers did so well last year, though. The timing of new product introductions, which don't always align nicely with the calendar year, can have a lot do with it.
Rolls-Royce's sales, for instance, were down more than 26% last year compared to a record year in 2019. That prior year, 2019, was the first full year of sales for the Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUV, one of the brand's most popular models. By contrast, in 2020, Rolls-Royce's factory stopped making the Ghost sedan for much of the year as it prepared for the new redesigned version.
Still, according to BMW, Rolls-Royce's parent company, the order bank for Ghosts is full for most of 2021 and the company had record interest in its bespoke customization business last year.
Top 10 luxury vehicles for America’s wealthiest
Top 10 luxury vehicles for America’s most wealthy

Luxury vehicles are more than just a brand name—they are a status symbol and often indicative of a certain quality of life. When it comes to the cars of the upper crust, there are a few notable brand names that tend to stand out—Mercedes, Cadillac, and BMW, to name a few. But some brands, it turns out, are more desirable among the higher income households across the United States than others.
In order to be considered a luxury vehicle, these cars must have features that pour the glitz and glam on above the average necessities. For example, according to Certified Autoplex, luxury is used to categorize vehicles that have better-than-average performance capabilities, high-end interiors, and the most cutting-edge tech and safety features.
The luxury car segment makes up about 5% of the U.S. car market, Statista reports—but which luxury vehicles are most popular among affluent Americans? Windfall used its wealth intelligence platform to compile a list of the 10 most popular luxury vehicles among its affluent households, or those with more than $1 million. The vehicles are ranked according to the total number of them owned by affluent households. Make, model, and style details on the vehicle, as well as the states where the vehicle is the most popular, are also provided.
It turns out the most popular luxury vehicle brands among wealthy Americans are the ones you’d expect. You’ll find the list is dotted with names like Mercedes, Cadillac, Lexus, and BMW, among others. If you’re in the market for a luxury vehicle, here are the ones that rank highly among your peers. Before you get behind the wheel of any old ride, read on to discover which luxury vehicle brands are the most popular among America’s wealthy drivers.
#10. Mercedes-Benz E 350

- Total owned by affluent households: 85,916
- Type of vehicle: full-size car
- Style of vehicle: two-door coupe
- States where vehicle is in the top 3 luxury vehicles: California (#2), Hawaii (#3)
The sleek Mercedes-Benz E 350 is a leader when it comes to engine, transmission, and performance, according to Car and Driver. The E 350 has a turbocharged, four-cylinder engine with 255 horsepower. It can pair with either rear or all-wheel drive.
#9. Cadillac SRX

- Total owned by affluent households: 90,234
- Type of vehicle: full-size SUV
- Style of vehicle: utility vehicle
- States where vehicle is in the top 3 luxury vehicles: Kentucky, (#3), Michigan (#2), North Dakota (#2)
The Cadillac SRX is known for its V6 engine and advanced safety features, according to U.S. News World Report. The 2016 model was a finalist for the Best Luxury 2-Row SUV for the Money award.
#8. Cadillac Escalade

- Total owned by affluent households: 104,919
- Type of vehicle: full-size SUV
- Style of vehicle: utility vehicle
- States where vehicle is in the top 3 luxury vehicles: Arkansas (#2), Arizona (#1), Iowa (#2), Idaho (#3), Indiana (#2), Kansas (#3), Louisiana (#1), Michigan (#3), Missouri (#3), Mississippi (#3), Montana (#1), North Dakota (#1), Nebraska (#1), Nevada (#2), Oklahoma (#1), South Dakota (#1), West Virginia (#1), Wyoming (#2)
The current generation of Cadillac Escalade was launched for 2021, and is the fifth generation of the car, according to Automobile Magazine. Its interior is, according to the magazine, the "most opulent and well-finished cockpit" from GM in decades, with a 38-inch OLED display. It also has a semi-autonomous driving system with lane assist, lane change assist, and adaptive cruise control.
#7. Audi A6

- Total owned by affluent households: 107,232
- Type of vehicle: mid-size car
- Style of vehicle: sedan
- States where vehicle is in the top 3 luxury vehicles: Montana (#3), New Hampshire (#3), Vermont (#3)
The Audi A6 is the sedan's eighth generation, which launched in 2018. According to Auto Evolution, the A6 was offered in four trim levels: premium, sport, premium plus, and prestige. The A6 has two powertrains and both use hybrid technology with a 12- or 48-volt starter, according to Car and Driver.
#6. BMW 328i

- Total owned by affluent households: 113,408
- Type of vehicle: mid-size car
- Style of vehicle: sedan
- States where vehicle is in the top 3 luxury vehicles: Washington D.C. (#2), Florida (#1), Georgia (#3), Hawaii (#2), North Carolina (#1), South Carolina (#3)
The BMW 328i is a car that remains popular despite the fact that a new model hasn’t been released since 2017. The 2016 model features 240 horsepower, an inline four-cylinder engine, and six-speed manual- and rear-wheel drive, according to Edmunds.
#5. Lexus RX 350

- Total owned by affluent households: 124,093
- Type of vehicle: mid-size SUV
- Style of vehicle: utility vehicle
- States where vehicle is in the top 3 luxury vehicles: Iowa (#3), Kentucky (#2), Nebraska (#2), Tennessee (#2), Texas (#2), Virginia (#3)
The 2021 Lexus RX 350 is one of the higher ranked luxury midsize SUVs thanks to its reliability rating and performance, according to U.S. News & World Report. The new model features blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, and auto-dimming of the outside mirror. It also has a very long list of standard and optional features.
#4. Audi A4

- Total owned by affluent households: 129,888
- Type of vehicle: mid-size car
- Style of vehicle: sedan
- States where vehicle is in the top 3 luxury vehicles: Alaska (#1), Colorado (#3), Connecticut (#2), Washington D.C. (#1), Hawaii (#1), Massachusetts (#2), Maryland (#3), Minnesota (#3), North Carolina (#3), New Hampshire (#2), New Jersey (#3), New York (#3), Oregon (#3), Rhode Island (#2), Utah (#2), Vermont (#1), Washington (#2), Wisconsin (#3)
According to Automobile Magazine, the first generation Audi A4 was a response to a weakened brand reputation and a product lineup that was outdated. Audi's latest version of the A4 is the B9, with a 248-horsepower version of its TFSI turbocharged four-cylinder. The seven-speed S-tronic dual-clutch gearbox is now standard in these cars, as well.
#3. Cadillac CTS

- Total owned by affluent households: 132,120
- Type of vehicle: full-size car
- Style of vehicle: sedan
- States where vehicle is in the top 3 luxury vehicles: Alabama (#1), Arkansas (#1), Arizona (#2), Delaware (#2), Florida (#3), Illinois (#3), Indiana (#1), Kentucky (#1), Louisiana (#2), Michigan (#1), Nevada (#1), Ohio (#3), Oklahoma (#2), Pennsylvania (#3), West Virginia (#2)
The Cadillac CTS burst onto the scene in 2003. Many versions have been released since, but the 2014 model was known for its V-Sport trim and twin-turbocharged V-6 engine, while, according to Cars.com, the 2016 model had a supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 and 640 horsepower.
#2. Acura MDX

- Total owned by affluent households: 202,680
- Type of vehicle: full-size SUV
- Style of vehicle: utility vehicle
- States where vehicle is in the top 3 luxury vehicles: Alaska (#2), Alabama (#2), Arkansas (#3), Arizona (#3), California (#1), Colorado (#2), Connecticut (#3), Washington D.C. (#3), Delaware (#1), Georgia (#1), Idaho (#1), Illinois (#1), Indiana (#3), Kansas (#1), Massachusetts (#1), Maryland (#1), Minnesota (#2), Missouri (#1), Mississippi (#2), North Carolina (#2), New Hampshire (#1), New Jersey (#1), New Mexico (#3), New York (#1), Ohio (#2), Oregon (#1), Pennsylvania (#1), Rhode Island (#3), South Carolina (#2), South Dakota (#3), Tennessee (#3), Utah (#1), Virginia (#1), Vermont (#2), Washington (#1), Wisconsin (#2)
The Acura MDX is known for its 290-horsepower 3.5 liter V-6, as well as 10-speed automatic, says Car and Driver. The Type S model offers a turbocharged 355-hp 3.0 liter V-6, and all-wheel drive is standard. Acura is already touting its 2022 model (it skipped 2021).
#1. BMW X5

- Total owned by affluent households: 205,672
- Type of vehicle: full-size SUV
- Style of vehicle: utility vehicle
- States where vehicle is in the top 3 luxury vehicles: Alabama (#3), California (#3), Colorado (#1), Connecticut (#1), Delaware (#3), Florida (#2), Georgia (#2), Iowa (#1), Idaho (#2), Illinois (#2), Kansas (#2), Louisiana (#3), Massachusetts (#3), Maryland (#2), Maine (#3), Minnesota (#1), Missouri (#2), Mississippi (#1), Montana (#2), Nebraska (#3), New Jersey (#2), New Mexico (#1), Nevada (#3), New York (#2), Ohio (#1), Oklahoma (#3), Oregon (#2), Pennsylvania (#2), Rhode Island (#1), South Carolina (#1), Tennessee (#1), Texas (#1), Utah (#3), Virginia (#2), Washington (#3), Wisconsin (#1), West Virginia (#3), Wyoming (#1)
With multiple powertrains to choose from, the BMW X5 is a luxury SUV that is one of the market's most popular. A brand-new xDrive45e plug-in hybrid is available for 2021, while the XDrive50i trim was removed from the lineup, according to U.S. News & World report. Among its favorite features are quick acceleration, high-end interior materials, a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter, six-cylinder engine, and more.
Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the age of Bentley.