BENTLEY Continental GT 2003-2010

The haters said that the Bentley Continental was the most expensive Volkswagen Phaeton coupe on the planet since the 2003 luxury car was based on the same platform as the German's flagship vehicle.

It wasn't completely true since the Continental was tweaked to offer more than any limousine could have offered at that time. First of all, it wasn't a four-door sedan. In theory, it was a 2+2 GT coupe, which proved that it had only two seats. The rear ones were good enough only for toy-dogs. But it was a fast and proud successor of the Bentley cars.

On the outside, the long, wide and low Continental GT featured a massive front fascia with a big chromed grille. The four-round headlights resembled the Bugatti headlights before WWII when the “Bentley Boys” were flying around the LeMans race-track. Wide-open doors and four power windows and no B-Pillar when those were rolled down inspired a faux-cabriolet body. The sloped rear left no interior headroom for the rear passengers. But who really cared? It was a sculpture in motion.

Inside, the luxurious interior was fitted with the latest features for comfort and safety available at that time. The hand-crafted materials and stitches inspired an exquisite look. There was no room for compromise.

Under the hood, there was a big, 6.0-liter W12 engine that was helped by a pair of turbochargers to develop 600 hp. The only transmission offered was a refined and specially tuned 6-speed ZF automatic, which sent the torque to all four wheels.