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,

Not many people today will remember the Rootes Group, a British car-maker that was tip-top in its day — or the Hillman marque that did much to sustain it.

The Hillman Avenger was created to replace the Hillman Minx, Rootes’ best selling car. However, the Arrow range — that was intended to replace the Minx and Super Minx — was already being developed by this time. It became the Hillman Hunter in 1966. The Arrow was already taking most of Rootes’s development resources.

Company executives still saw a need for a smaller, smarter model. The new car would bridge the gap between the Imp and the Minx, and take on the rampant Ford Cortina.

In November 1965, the Avenger was called the “B Car”, and its product guidelines had been determined. The engineers knew it would need to be compact, cute, spacious and fast — by the standards of the day. It would have to offer more than its rivals. Rootes also wanted to take advantage of the new fashion for “company cars”.

The main problem was that British cars were cheap and cheerful at the time, almost thrown together by a stroppy workforce that cared little for Britain’s past proud achievements in car making. Unions ruled the roost, with many a connection direct into the Kremlin. One thing would make the Avenger stand out from the pack — its name. The Avengers television series gave it a cachet it scarcely deserved, and made it “cool” in a jaded marketplace.

In February 1970, the Hillman Avenger was launched, with reviewers praising its excellence on the road, and its contemporary styling. There was a real sense that the car would be the making of the ailing company, and that under Chrysler’s direction, what was the Rootes group would go on to prosper (for a while) in the emerging company car market.

Our last post, which showed a Ferrari Enzo after it had been hit by a bus and careered into a VW Golf, didn’t perhaps illustrate the car at its best.

Here’s the rundown of this tip-top model :

Named after company founder Enzo Ferrari, the Ferrari Enzo was built in a limited run of 399, with an extra car that was offered to the Pope. It is an outstanding expression of the concept of extreme sportiness, developed for road use, yet epitomizing the most advanced concepts of Formula 1 racing technology.

Ferrari set out to develop the Ferrari Enzo as an integrated system designed for extreme performance, in which even the limits of the performance achievable by the driver were enhanced, thanks to a man-machine interface typical of Formula 1.

Make and Model: Ferrari Enzo
Engine Type: 6-liter V-12
Torque: 485lb-ft@5500rpm
Acceleration 0-60: 3.6 s
Suspension: 4-wheel independant
Wheel Base: 104.33 inches
List Price: $652,000
Horsepower: 660bhp@7800rpm
Top Speed: 217 mph
Brakes: Brembo 4-wheel vent. disc
Transmission: 6-speed Electrohydraulic
Weight: 3009 lbs.

Useful little runabout, maybe?

When you own a rare supercar of which only 399 were made, you may like to think that you’re the one capable of driving “like a bat out of hell”. However, businessman Frank Mountain has issued a High Court writ, claiming a reckless bus driver has wrecked his £600,000 ($1,150,000) hand-built Ferrari Enzo.

The tycoon, who was in the passenger seat, was being driven to a race track by a Ferrari dealer. The writ claims the crash cost more than £300,000 in repairs and related expenses, including compensation for loss of earnings when the owner had to travel to Italy to pick up the vehicle, loss of use of the Ferrari and a drop in the car’s value. “As a consequence of the collision the airbags inflated and the Ferrari filled with smoke and dust, rendering the driver unable to see and causing the Ferrari to collide with the VW Golf.” The Golf was written off.

The bus driver said, “My wife Christina was furious. She said, ‘You couldn’t have been in an accident with anything cheap could you?’”

Wilts and Dorset bus company, whose driver was involved, dispute the claim. Finance Director Matt Dolphin said: “We have filed a counter claim.”

All that fuss over a car!