Luxury car market cruising

Tony Dilawri, owner of the Dilawri Group of Companies, shows off the Bentley Continental Supersport. The $323,100 two-seater's arrival in Calgary is a sign the market for luxury cars is holding up, he says.Photograph by: Ted Rhodes, Calgary Herald, Calgary Herald; with files from Reuters

Auto sales in Canada may have fallen for the 10th straight month in August, but the luxury car market remains healthy.

At least for Tony Dilawri, owner of the Dilawri Group of Companies and retail principal of Bentley Calgary.

On Thursday, Dilawri unveiled the new Continental Supersport model -- the fastest and most powerful Bentley ever made -- with a base price of $323,100. And he revealed that one has been sold and there is the potential for two other sales.

The new model is a two-seater and is the first Bentley capable of running on both gasoline or biofuel, pioneering the use of FlexFuel technology in the luxury sector.

The vehicle can go from zero to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds. It has a maximum speed of 329 km/h.

"This is very limited production," said Dilawri. "We're only getting three for the year."

In Alberta, the model is available only in Calgary.

"The (luxury car)market overall has really not changed. For Bentley and Aston Martin, our numbers are the same. It's hard to really put a gauge on it because last year the building wasn't here and we were selling the product out of our BMW store.

"Our numbers have still been good overall. People are still buying the luxury vehicles."

The Dilawri Group of Companies encompasses 28 dealerships in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Saskatchewan. In Calgary, the company's holdings have grown to include eight franchises, representing seven vehicle manufacturers--Bentley Calgary, Aston Martin Calgary, Spyker Calgary, Calgary Honda, Calgary BMW, Mini Crowfoot and Hyundai Calgary.

Nationally, the Dilawri Group employs more than 1,500 people, including 450 in Calgary.

Year to date, 28 new vehicles have sold from the Distinctive Collection dealership in Calgary.

Figures released earlier this week showed that overall Canadian vehicle sales fell 7.9 per cent from August 2008 to 135,351 units, according to data from DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc.

"I guess one could say that is an improvement from the double-digit declines through most of the past year," said Dennis DesRosiers, president of the company, " but understand that there is little in these numbers to indicate that things are getting better."

mtoneguzzi@theherald.canwest.com