The Bentley GT coupe is surely one of the great exotic cars in recent years. Despite its size, it will accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in less than 5 seconds and reach a maximum speed of more than 180 mph.

It has a new, paddle-operated 6-speed automatic gearbox delivered to the road via all-wheel drive — a first in Bentley’s history.

Bentley says all-wheel drive was considered essential not only for safety but to enhance the car’s everyday usability.

The car can be seen everywhere from metropolitan highways to ski resorts all over the world.

Electronic Stability Control is also included. Suspension is made up of a multilink rear axle with double wishbones in the front and the latest in electronic damping control.

Bentley GT Specifications:
* Make and Model: Bentley GT Coupe
* Year: 2003
* Engine Type: 6 liter Twin-Turbo W12
* Torque: 675lb-ft@6500rpm
* Acceleration 0-60: 4.6 s
* Suspension: Double Wishbones w/Air Springs
* List Price: $145,000
* Horsepower: 550bhp@6000rpm
* Top Speed: 200 mph
* Brakes: 4-wheel vent. disc
* Transmission: 6-Speed Automatic
* Weight: 5257 lbs

As exotic cars go, the Bentley GT coupe has got to be one of the best,

In October last year I wrote of the Ferrari 250 GTO, the classic GT car that sets the standard for all the others. At the time, I was unaware of YouTube but have been digging around and found several clips that enable us to experience the GTO more immediately.

Listen to the sound of twelve cylinders working in sweet harmony in these clips, the throaty voice of six twin-choke Weber carburetors, the awe-struck voices of the onlookers. It may be a forty year old design now but it still reigns supreme.

Tuning a 250 GTO with a little road test afterwards.

Just a GTO - it’s enough!

And this is what it sounds like in its natural home, the track.

And here’s an interesting little clip:

The Ferrari 250 LM, the mid-engined car that replaced the 250 GTO. Almost as desirable…

I’ll probably regret this but I couldn’t resist. Found it on YouTube, of course - a weird guy and his beloved Rover P5B.

That was the last of the Rover tanks, a last despairing cry from the Rovers of old before they tried to become modern and hip. You can see the close relationship between the P5 and the Rover 90 of the fifties - my father had one of those so I sort of understand this guy’s obsession. They were the most solid thing on the road and never let you down, after all.

All that was to disappear with the advent of the Rover 2000, a wild foray into the future for the company, followed by the long decay under the thumb of the British Motors Corporation, and then the apparent rebirth as all that was left of that disintegrating organization. But that was the Rover name only - for a real Rover you have to go back to the days of the Rover P5…

Anyway, take a look at the video and wonder what it’s all about.

Through the 1950s and 1960s, a horde of little cars competed at Le Mans for the Thermal Efficiency Index prize. The idea of this formula was to reward those who tried for performance without using oceans of fuel and the competing cars were invariably small, ultra-streamlined and powered by tiny engines. I have always felt that the drivers of these little wonders must have been very brave to head down the Mulsanne straight at their maximum 120 mph or so with the big cars screaming past at close to 200 mph.

A consistent entrant and winner of the class was the small French firm, D.B. - the initials indicating the partnership between two designers, Charles Deutsch and René Bonnet. When the pair split up in 1962, Bonnet started building cars under his own name with Renault supplying the engines.

And so was born one of the prettiest little GT cars ever - the René Bonnet Djet. It was one of the first production mid-engined cars and, thanks to its light weight, was as zippy as it looked. With only one liter of engine, it still managed a top speed of about 110 mph. Most were bought for racing in spite of being intended for road use.

By 1965 M. Bonnet was in financial difficulties and sold out to Matra, who continued production of the Djet and eventually rebodied it with one of the ugliest designs ever. As a result, the original Bonnet Djets are still regarded as the real thing.