Bentley Continental GT Philadelphia PA

That's wholly evident as you twist the GT's key (on the left, like a Porsche 911's) and its 552-bhp 6.0-liter W-12 engine gently murmurs to life. But not before you open this coupe's door (it has the heft of a bridge girder) and your senses are pleasantly assaulted — the rich aroma of an English riding saddle tannery, the look of a cozy men's club, with polished walnut veneer paneling a dual-binnacle dash, elegant rings of chrome around just-so gauges, a jewel-like Breitling clock, tasteful touches of satin-finish aluminum and Bentley's trademark metal "eyeball" vents with their push-pull organ-stop controls. Yards of stitched seams, perfectly hand-aligned. It makes me want a fine cigar, and I don't even smoke.

And just when you're content to sit in here and wonder what the serfs are doing today, you realize that this 5350-lb. rolling penthouse is capable of pounding out a 4.4-second 0-60 run, and charges through our quarter-mile trap in 12.9 sec. — supercar numbers that will humble a BMW M3 and come within a sneeze of the Corvette Z06. With its all-wheel drive and air suspension, the Bentley leaves the line with virtually no squat and accelerates with the constant-g linearity of a 747 jumbo jet on takeoff roll. Even more impressive is how the engine always feels as if it's understressed, even when rudely pushing the air aside as you forge deep into triple-digit speeds. The more you crack open the twin throttle bodies and unleash a peak 10.1 psi of boost from a duo of low-inertia KKK turbochargers, the better the sound gets. "A rhythmic, throaty drone that resonates like an RAF Mosquito's twin Rolls-Royce Merlins," said Associate Art Director Bert Swift.

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