2006 Bentley Continental Flying Spur vs 2007 Mercedez-Benz S600

Twelve cylinders are about power, yes, but they're even more about the turbine like smoothness that comes with sophisticated power delivery-not to mention exclusivity, bragging rights, and automotive sensuality. Lincoln, Packard, Rolls-Royce, Maybach, all prewar greats that purred to the V-12 beat. Ferrari and Lamborghini wouldn't be the highly sought marques they are without a high-revving dozen. Presented here, then, are a brace of flagship sedans, each offering not only 12 pistons, but a pair of turbochargers as well. If refined power is good, a big bunch of it ought to be just right.

Bentley's elegant Continental GT coupe begat the Continental {{{Flying Spur}}} sedan last spring. It uses the coupe's chassis architecture, adding a foot's worth of wheelbase, a revised rear subframe, retuned suspension and exhaust systems, and, of course, new rear-end styling to make it a four-door. The only powertrain offered-or-needed-is the coupe's 6.0-liter W-1 , which burbles out 55 horses and 79 pound-feet of torque. A six-speed automatic transmission backs the innovatively configured engine, and the action gets to the ground via standard all-wheel drive. The Spur's square-rigged profile makes for an upright, commodious cabin and an even bigger place to enjoy the aroma of 11 hides' worth of supple, drawingroom- quality leather.

Mercedes-Benz's S-class is new from scratch for 2007 and went on sale in January in V-8-powered, S550 form. The S600 is the second step in the model rollout plan. As are all U.S.-bound S-classes, it's offered only in this platform's long-wheelbase form. The engine carries over from the previous generation 600 and is little different from the one that powers $ 00K-plus Maybachs. The twin-turbocharged 5.5-liter, SOHC, three valve V-1 is good for 510 horsepower, but it out-torques the Bentley with 61 pound-feet of grunt spread across a butte that runs from 1800 to 500 rpm. It's backed by a five speed automatic transmission; no all-wheel drive is offered with the V-12. The Big Benz incorporates Maybachesque styling cues and more technology than the NASA space capsules of not so many years back.

As their makers' top offerings (well, Bentley doesn't really have a bottom offering), they come well loaded. There isn't enough room on these pages to describe all their creature features, electronics, and power accessories, so we've highlighted some of the coolest bits elsewhere in a sidebar on the next page.

Bentley's taken a traditional design approach, and why not? The Continental Flying Spur is gorgeous. Everything is covered in supple yet sturdy leather, and the driver faces businesslike gauges and instrumentation. Behold what must be the world's most costly shifter: leather-trimmed with a knurled metal knob-it's yours for just $590 over the standard piece. You'll have to spend another $590 bucks if you want our tester's drilled aluminum pedals. The center stack encompasses a large screen for nav and entertainment functions. Its system-management setup is something in between a conventional-style (everything managed by buttons) layout and a BMW iDrive-style central-controller arrangement. It allows you to adjust numerous aspects of the car (radio station selection, climate settings, audio-system adjustments, several presets) by pushing a button for that function, then turning the central dial.