Bentley, the luxury carmaker, is to create 350 new jobs at its UK plant as it prepares for production of the long awaited sports coupe.

The manufacturer is adding a second shift at the factory in Crewe as its strives to fulfil the 2004 delivery date for the 3500 Continental GT orders already taken by retailers.

Launched in October, the £110,000 198mph super-tourer will help the Volkswagen-owned firm break even by 2005.

The German carmaker has invested £500m in Bentley since the acquisition in 1998 – £216m went into making the Continental GT at the Crewe factory. More than £154m was committed to supplier tooling while £63m was spent on upgrading the factory.

Franz-Josef Paefgen, Bentley chief executive, says the company is aiming for an operating profit of at least 100m Euros (£69m) on a turnover of between one and 1.5bn Euros (£690m-£1.03bn).

The extra staff will allow Crewe to make up 5000 Continentals every year. Investment in people will also help production and development of the next Bentley model – rumoured to be a convertible.

Launch of the GT has been delayed by a month due to strikes at VW's East German plant, which supplies the car's bodyshell.