New exhibitions showcase luxury car icons in Europe

Fans of luxury cars in Europe have been spoiled this week with the launch of three new special exhibits from leading names Bentley, Jaguar and Porsche.

At Bentley's headquarters in Crewe, England, auto enthusiasts can see a new exhibition detailing the world inhabited by the Bentley designers, from first sketch to the factory gates.

The exhibition, An Unbroken Line, follows the story of the creation of new Bentleys such as the Continental GT and Mulsanne, showing items such as sketches, models and computer visualizations to the public for the first time.

At the heart of the exhibition is a series of models illustrating the art of the brand's designers over the past 90 years, including a 1930 "Blue Train" Speed Six Coupe and more recent examples such as the Continental GT.

Further south in London, the Design Museum is celebrating 50 years of the iconic Jaguar E-Type with a special display of an original E-Type in the Museum's "Tank."

Launched in 1961, the bullet-shaped vehicle was the first large-scale production road car to be developed from the study of aerodynamics and proved an instant hit with everyone from racing drivers to celebrities.

At the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, a new exhibit from February 11 showcases the brand's popularity on Facebook.

To celebrate one million fans on its Facebook page, the brand is displaying a Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid featuring the signatures of over 27,000 Porsche fans who sent their signature through the social networking site for a chance to have it displayed.

• An Unbroken Line will be based at Bentley's Headquarters in Crewe throughout 2011. Tours are on Fridays and must be booked in advance by emailing Public.Tours@Bentley.co.uk.
• Fiftieth Anniversary of the Jaguar E-Type runs February 8 - March 6 in London's Design Museum.
  http://www.designmuseum.org
• The 911 GT3 R Hybrid is on display at the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart February 11-20. http://www.porsche.com/museum