Bentley’s high speed ad banned

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Australia's advertising watchdog has stopped a Bentley speed run in the Northern Territory from airing, describing the stunt as "unsafe".

The luxury marque took to an unrestricted (and closed) section of the Stuart Highway north of Alice Springs late last year, with racer John Bowe piloting a Continental GT Speed to speeds above 330km/h. The production was facilitated by the Northern Territory's government tourism body and has since appeared on several websites including Bentley's own YouTube channel.

A disclaimer at the beginning of the ad notes that Bowe drove the $485,000 machine in "controlled circumstances" and the car is "thoroughly checked before the run".

But in a ruling handed down by the Advertising Standards Bureau, Bentley was found to have breached the Advertising for Motor Vehicles Voluntary Code of Practice.

"The conditions under which the driving took place and the advertisement filmed are made clear at the outset, including the location, where there is no maximum speed limit in place," the Bureau said.

"However the Board considered that this is not the case in other jurisdictions where the advertisement is published, where the speed reached by the Bentley in the advertisement of 206 miles per hour (331 km per hour) 'would breach the law of any State or Territory in the relevant jurisdiction in which the advertisement is published or broadcast dealing with road safety or traffic regulation, if such driving were to occur on a road or road-related area."

The ruling follows a complaint by the chairman of the Pedestrian Council, Harold Scruby.

Bentley responded to the ad by removing the video from its official Youtube channel. The driver of the car, John Bowe, expressed his frustration on social media.

"Are we really such a nanny country that this Bentley ad I did can't be shown?!?" Bowe said.

"This whole thing was conducted under the safest conditions known to man, and the whole intro [sic] sets the scene. It's more dangerous driving down St Kilda road!

"Lord save us from the do-gooders!!! Don't you reckon?"

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