2007 Bentley Gt Coupe Silver Tempest/portland 20 Wheels 14,600 Miles on 2040-cars

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Question of the Day: What's the greatest British car ever?

The British automotive industry has produced everything from high-production econo-commuters to staggeringly luxurious oligarch-wagons, along the way winning plenty of races and building plenty of beautiful machines. The original Mini led directly to the past half-century of transverse-engine, front-wheel-drive cars built everywhere, the MGB put the sporty little convertible into everyone's reach, and the Morris Oxford became the most beloved motor vehicle in India. So many to choose from, but we want you to pick one. What will it be? Related Video:

Watch a Bentley Continental GT Speed hoon around an abandoned Sicilian air base

If your morning caffeine dose isn't quite getting the job done, watching a 12-cylinder Bentley Continental GT Speed drift around the former NATO Comiso Air Station in Sicily may just do the trick. While "Continental Drift" may have nothing to do with plate tectonics in this context, it's highly appropriate that the GT Speed is powered by a W12 producing enough torque to shape the Earth's crust from above. Too bad Land Rover has dibs on "Pangea Green" as a paint finish. Per Bentley, the short was filmed during the recent Global Media Drive for the GT Speed. Bentley converted the abandoned NATO base into a gymkhana-style track. "Abandoned almost 30 years ago and having been slowly reclaimed by nature since, Comiso proved to be the ideal place to create a safe yet challenging environment to demonstrate the performance credentials of the GT Speed," Bentley said in the accompanying announcement.  Comiso is no stranger to ground-based missiles, but the Continental GT Speed is an entirely different breed. Its 6.0-liter twin-turbo W12 makes 650 horsepower (up 24 over the standard W12) and 664 pound-feet of torque, dropping the GT Speed's 0-60 mph time to 3.5 seconds on the way to a top speed of 208 mph. 

Meet the all-new, third-generation Bentley Flying Spur

The all-new, third-generation Bentley Flying Spur rolls into our lives behind a retracting, illuminated Flying B hood ornament. The grand tourer sedan sibling to the Continental GT also brings a new platform with a longer wheelbase, a new design, more technology, and fluted leather and wood finery. About the only thing that doesn't change is horsepower, with the 6.0-liter W12 putting out the same 626 horsepower as the top-level Flying Spur W 12 S trim of the second-generation sedan. Torque, however, makes a substantial jump from 605 to 664 pound-feet. The same MSB architecture that serves the Continental GT and the Porsche Panamera has been called up for duty. A wheelbase stretched by 5.1 inches over the previous Flying Spur delivers handling benefits and attends especially to the comfort of rear-seat passengers. Superformed aluminum panels create sharper, smoother lines everywhere, starting with the sedan's face. A much wider grille re-establishes proportions up front, as well as a corporate look that goes its own way from the Continental. Vertical vanes in the grille channel the 1957 Bentley S1 Continental Flying Spur, and sit just ahead of a gloss black matrix mesh. The lower grille comes in gloss black matrix as well, but can be specced in bright chrome. The LED matrix headlamps have been fitted with chrome sleeves in order to glimmer even when the lights are off. A prominent crease emphasizes the shoulders and haunches. Beneath that, the front fender vents adopt a larger and more obvious "B" shape, the lower doors accented by a chrome strip running between the wheel arches. Those arches will be filled with either the standard 21-inch wheels, or two new 22-inch wheels on sedans optioned with Mulliner Specification. In back, wrap-around taillights take on the illuminated "B" graphic, and the license plate holder moves to the lower bumper, leaving only the Bentley wings and the word "Bentley" to adorn the decklid. The interior overhaul befits Bentley's move into its second century. A high-definition digital instrument binnacle sits behind the new steering wheel. A 12.3-inch screen on the instrument panel handles infotainment needs and performs several tricks, one of which is a proximity sensor that primes the system for commands as a hand draws near. Another trick is that the screen is set into a three-sided, rotating shape. A press of a button flips the screen to reveal a panel with three analogue gauges - temperature, compass and chronometer.