Bentley Continental GT Interior

The Bentley Continental GT and GTC are the two-door companions to the luxuriant four-door Continental Flying Spur. Offered in a grand total of five different models for the current model year, the Continental GT emerged in a sole coupe version in the 2005 model year. Over the current generation, the Continental two-door lineup has added power and has received a mild cosmetic touch-up, along with some other mechanical upgrades. The cars it elbows aside at the valet-parking stand include the Mercedes-Benz CL-Class coupe, the Ferrari California, and possibly the Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe and Drophead Coupe.

The basics of the $185,000 coupe and $200,000 convertible are shared with the Flying Spur. Though the two-doors have a much shorter wheelbase, they share the engine, transmission, all-wheel-drive system, and other performance pieces with the four-door Spur. At the core: a 6.0-liter, twin-turbocharged twelve-cylinder engine in which the cylinders are arranged not in a V shape, but as a W. This spares some room under the hood, and produces power just as copiously and as smoothly as a conventional V-12.

In the standard GT and GTC convertible, the W-12 engine produces 552 horsepower, and a 0-60 mph acceleration time of about 5 seconds, even though the cars each weigh more than 5500 pounds. Step up to the Speed editions, and power rises to 600 hp, while acceleration times drop below 5 seconds and top speed on coupes rises to 195 mph. The flightiest Continental GT Supersports hardtop adds on 21 more horsepower, hurtles to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, and tops out at 204 mph, according to Bentley. Each of these shifts gears through a six-speed, paddle-operated automatic transmission--and each rides on an independent suspension, with power shuffled to the wheels via the all-wheel-drive goodness of a Torsen differential. As you might expect from the price, weight and power, fuel economy in the Continental GT is downright atrocious at 10/17 mpg. It's mitigated only a little by the flex-fuel capability of all versions: each can run on E85 ethanol blend.

Among the myriad convenience and luxury features on the Continental, there's a marvelous convertible lid on the GTC versions that folds closed or opens in 25 seconds, at the touch of a switch. Lavish interior materials distinguish the Continental range even from the Ferraris and Maseratis of the world, and a 1000-watt Naim audio system is on the options list for a mere $6000, though you'll pay separately for an iPod audio interface. The Mulliner trim package of quilted leather, knurled chrome and turned aluminum trim, is a highlight of modern-day automobile construction.

A replacement for the linebacker-hefty Continental GT series is due in a couple of years--and it's expected a major crash-diet program will bear results as parent company VW has been able to shake 400 pounds out of even the new VW Touareg and Porsche Cayenne SUVs.