1999 Bentley Continental T

Presenting the Torque Monster, Mr. Olympia, wearing a tuxedo and black sunglasses: the Bentley Continental T. Most people see a Bentley and think Rolls-Royce. It's an understandable mistake, considering the two marques' commingled histories. But with a true sporting background dating from the late 1920s when Bentleys five times won a then-little-known race in Le Mans, France, the bonny Bentleys of today evoke the spirit and hand-craftsmanship of the past with even more performance to send your Bowler to the back seat, posthaste.

What propels this huge touring coupe is what motivated this entire story--torque, and more of it than you can find anywhere on earth in any production car, or truck, thank you. All Bentley engine output was, until recently, quoted only as "appropriate" or "sufficient" for the needs of the vehicle. Now, the T's turbocharged 6.75-liter OHV Rolls-Royce-designed V-8 is rated at 650 pound-feet of torque at a mere 2200 rpm. We couldn't believe it, either, until we drove the car. Another surprising fact: the 5400-pound Bentley is actually rated by the EPA as a "subcompact," due to its scant interrior volume.

The baddest luxury car ever created accelerates with the linear quality and near silence of an electric bullet train. It slingshots its two Honda Civic's worth of weight to 60 mph in only 6.2 seconds and swallows the quarter mile in 14.5 at 98.3 mph. Yet, belying its tire-burning performance, this Bentley truly is the quintessential luxury machine. It pampers in an unabashedly hedonistic old-world manner, with supple and sweetly aromatic leather, near-silent operation, and a visual and tactile treasure trove of hand-polished chrome switchgear, machined aluminum, wool carpeting, and a turned-metal dashboard including the famous, red starter button.