A new wide-separation gravitational lens candidate

We present observational evidence for the existence of a new wide-separation (5.14"), high-redshift (z = 2.076), gravitationally lensed quasar Q1429-008. The discovery of the system represents the first bona fide gravitationally lensed quasar to be detected in the automated optical survey described by Webster et al. The Q1429-008 system comprises two components, R-band magnitudes m_R_ = 17.7 and 20.8. The spectra of the two components are very similar although small systematic differences in the emission-line strengths are probably present. The velocity difference between the two spectra, derived from cross-correlation techniques, is {DELTA}V = 260 +/- 300 km s^-1^. The observational data are consistent with a deflector of cluster mass and dimensions, at a redshift z ~ 1.5, but such an observer-deflector-source geometry is unlikely a priori. If the deflector is at the "most likely" redshift, z ~ 0.6, then the lower limit to the deflector mass-to-light ratio is extremely high.