Ever dream of owning a meticulously crafted Bentley product for only $1500?

That dream could soon come true. However, don't expect this new Bentley to take you anywhere but fantasyland.

In a unique collaboration between three of Britain's iconic brands - James Bond, Bentley Motors, and Penguin Books - a special, limited edition of the new Bond book Devil May Care will be published on May 28. Written by Sebastian Faulks at the invitation of Ian Fleming Publications, 300 copies of the book will feature a Bentley leather-stitched, burnt oak design inspired by original 1950s and 1960s hardcover Bond books, as well as Bentley owner's manuals and handbooks of that era. Inside the book, readers will also find a specially designed model pewter Bentley, which was described in detail by Ian Fleming in Thunderball.

Though Bond has more recently been seen driving Aston Martins and BMWs, the British spy has a history with Bentley Motors - Bond owned three Bentleys in the course of fourteen original novels written by Fleming. Therefore, to celebrate the centenary of Fleming's birth, Penguin books and Bentley found it appropriate to release such a unique product.

Those Bentley Boys (and Girls) have done it again - this time in the form of a carbon fiber, electric-powered speedster. Apprentices from Crewe have created the diminutive Continental DC special for some environment-friendly racing.

Measuring in at only 4.6 feet long, the DC is designed to compete in Britain's Greenpower Formula 24+ series. Open to young adults, the series promotes the design and development of compact electric racers, allowing some open-wheel fun with less environmental guilt.

Bentley's entry uses carbon fiber throughout its body structure, allowing the car to weigh a scant 265 pounds. Coupled with the DC's low coefficient of drag, a low weight helps create an efficient power-to-weight ratio. That's good, as power is limited to one source: a 24-volt, 240-watt direct-current motor normally used to propel wheelchairs. The motor develops a scant one-half horsepower and only 5 lb-ft of torque.

Two 12-volt batteries supply juice to the motor, which, through a compact CVT, powers the rear axle. Unlike Bentley's 2004 soap box racer, the DC is complete with luxuries including telemetry transponder, leather seating and a dashboard purportedly styled after full-size Bentleys.

The Continental DC made its first appearance at Greenpower's Corporate Challenge at Goodwood last weekend, but should be running in a host of Formula 24+ events throughout the summer.

There is no way around it: the Brooklands coupe, the new range-topper from Bentley, is a magnificent absurdity. Standing blunt and foursquare, the nearly three-ton four-seater from Crewe is as incongruous as the ballerina hippos in Disney's Fantasia. Like them, it is implausibly graceful and capable in motion. On the face of it, the fact that one of the most beautifully finished cars ever built is capable of running with ultimate two-seat sports cars from Italy and Germany on twisting roads is absurd. That this huge mass can go from rest to 60 mph in a mere five seconds, and that it can go on to 184 mph on its standard tires, is frankly incredible. But absolutely true.

Everything about the Brooklands is over the top, whether one is talking about the biggest brakes offered on any production car or the most completely leather-lined cabin available today (even the headliner is made with flaw-free leather from contented cows). This is a car of extremes, which is as it should be. There's no point in paying some $350,000 for a car unless it possesses qualities that lesser vehicles do not. This one does, in spades.

There is no magic in getting a lot of power - 530 hp at a mere 4000 rpm in this case - out of a big-capacity engine, especially with the aid of turbocharging and modern electronic controls. It's less easy to make the engine smooth as glass and quiet as a limousine, not to mention giving it, Bentley says, "the highest-ever torque output of any V-8 automotive engine in the world." To apply all that potential in a chassis conceived long ago - giving it excellent body control, a fluidly comfortable ride, and precise, almost perfectly weighted steering - is a feat of superior automotive engineering. To be able to achieve all this so that rear-seat passengers aren't subjected to uncomfortable side loads in tight curves denotes real mastery.

There are going to be only 550 Brooklands coupes, and 500 of them have already been spoken for. Two of the cars used for the press launch are earmarked for Martin Winterkorn and Franz-Josef Paefgen, head of the Volkswagen Group and of Bentley Motors, respectively, so the cars were well-equipped, including 16.5-inch carbon-ceramic brake rotors (an option that costs a bit more than a base Volkswagen Rabbit). We are convinced that most of the reason for the impressiveness of German cars - and Bentley is a German car now, like it or not - comes from the fact that their top executives drive their products and drive them hard.

The Brooklands is a variant of the Azure, with its steel roof panel brazed onto the existing reinforced convertible platform. It is heavy, yes, but it's also unyieldingly stiff and provides a base for precision control of the suspension systems. This is almost certainly the last iteration of the big cars that were initially created under Vickers ownership, but from conversations with Bentley staff, we have the impression that there will be new V-8-powered cars in the future. Those cars will have a more modern electronic architecture (the parking brake is still mechanical, unlike those of many European midrange family sedans) and much lighter and stronger body/chassis structures with better space arrangements.

The Brooklands' cabin is exceptionally comfortable, and all four seats are electrically adjustable. There's ample leg, head, and foot room for six-foot-plus people in the rear, even with the front seats fully aft and down. The comfort extends to the visual and the tactile. Every detail is a pleasure to the touch, and there are no jarring deviations from quality materials that might displease the most critical eye. All the interior brightwork is polished stainless steel, not plated metal. The ergonomics are nothing to get excited about, especially the extraneous starter button, but the whole ensemble is aesthetically satisfying in a sumptuously understated manner.

Indeed, the whole car is satisfying to contemplate. For a couple, this is really the perfect grand tourer. The trunk isn't huge, but it will hold enough luggage for two people. It's easy to imagine wafting from château-hotel to château-hotel, and then perhaps picking up another couple for a run to dinner at a fine restaurant. Ease, refinement, and exclusivity . . . what more could someone with at least a $5 million net worth (which Bentley considers the minimum standing for entry to the Brooklands club) require?

From the centerline of the front wheels rearward, this is a truly beautiful, very slightly old-fashioned, and very British-looking machine. From the wheels forward, it is a bit coarse and carries a few too many sport and racing cues and not quite enough brightwork for anyone who reveres the early-1950s Continental R coupe. As noted, though, almost all of the 550 Brooklands coupes are spoken for. May the owners enjoy having them as much as we enjoyed our drive.

The standard Bentley Continental GT can do 198 mph, which usually is fast enough, even when you're running late for the airport. Nonetheless, Bentley now has added another model, the GT Speed, whose chief bragging point is that it reaches the magic 200-mph mark, maxing out at 203 mph, to be exact. But the extra 5 mph strikes us as not worth the price.

There's the literal price of course, an extra $24,000. But that hardly seems of consequence when a regular Continental GT already goes for $182,285. In addition to the greater speed--largely due to the fact that the engine's output has increased to 600 hp (rather than 552 hp) and 553 lb-ft of torque (as opposed to 479 lb-ft)--the extra cash also buys Bentley's Mulliner Driving Specification interior upgrade (quilted leather upholstery, a choice of engine-turned aluminum or wood trim, and drilled pedals), unique twenty-inch wheels, revised steering, and a retuned chassis with a lower ride height.

The idea is to turn the Continental GT into a more hard-edged machine, but it's not a direction the big Bentley coupe really wants to go. With a twin-turbocharged W-12 engine hanging out ahead of the front axle, all-wheel drive, and a curb weight north of 5000 pounds, the fact that the standard Continental GT drives so well is already a triumph of engineering over physics. Asking it to be more of a sports car is asking a lot.

Yes, the GT Speed is a bit quicker: 0.3 second faster to 60 mph (at a factory-estimated 4.3 seconds) and 0.8 second more swift to 100 mph (10.3 seconds), but that's hardly transformational stuff. The air spring/damper units are 22 percent stiffer, but the standard car already offers four damper settings, and with that flexibility, we don't see the value of giving up any further ride comfort. The firmer GT Speed setup really doesn't turn this big, heavy coupe into a plaything through the twisties, and any gains there may be are sabotaged by the changes to the steering, which actually has been lightened for GT Speed duty. It's too light and too quick, effects exaggerated by the GT Speed's smaller-diameter steering wheel.

Optional carbon-ceramic brakes (available on the regular Continental GT as well) feature rotors "the size of a family pizza," in the words of chief engineer Ulrich Eichhorn. At 16.5 inches in front, they're the biggest in the business. For your extra $16,500, they provide fade-free performance with no squealing, less brake dust, and pads that should last the life of the car. They work fine when you're decelerating from triple-digit speeds, but in mellower driving, they aren't quite as easy to modulate as the standard iron-rotor stoppers.

Like a dutiful salesman, the Continental GT Speed makes its number. But we can't help preferring the standard car. Yeah, it goes only 198 mph, so you just have to leave your house a little earlier.

Crewe's Missile
It's a sunny, 80-degree day on the vast, thirteen-mile test track in Ehra-Lessien, Germany. Automobile Magazine's European editor, Georg Kacher, is preparing to pilot a metallic red Bentley Continental GT beyond the 200-mph mark.

Crewe's Missile
Bentley's gorgeous new Contential GT features a twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter W-12 engine producing 550-horsepower and 479-pound-feet of torque. It delivers its power through a six-speed manu-matic gearbox and permanent all-wheel drive.

Crewe's Missile
Posing with the Conti, left to right: Ulrich Eichhorn, the Bentley board member in charge of research and development; Brian Gush, director of chassis, powertrain, and motorsport; and the ever-intrepid Georg Kacher.

Crewe's Missile

Crewe's Missile

Crewe's Missile

Crewe's Missile

Crewe's Missile
Our six-foot seven-inch European editor, Georg Kacher, has made a habit of traveling beyond 200 miles per hour. Since his first time, in a Porsche 959, Kacher pressed some twenty-five cars beyond that mark—including, most recently, a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, a Porsche Carrera GT, and a Ferrari Enzo.

Crewe's Missile
On the long track's high-speed straights, the Conti managed to return a mere 4.7 mpg—enough to prompt the low-fuel warning after only seven laps and run the 23.8-gallon tank dry after less than forty minutes.

Crewe's Missile
Suction-cupped to the windshied, the Datron GPS-guided speedo registers an astonishing 324 km/h—that's 201 mph. Before this run was through, Kacher and his courageous photographer, Detlev Wecke, would touch 329 km/h (204 mph), firming up Bentley's claim that Continental GT is the world's fastest four-seater.

ON SALE: JANUARY 2008 / $300,000 (EST.)

This one is for those who find the Continental GT just a smidge ordinary. Only 550 examples of the Brooklands coupe, which is based on the more traditional Azure convertible, will be built. Power from the Azure's 6.8-liter twin-turbo V-8 is increased to 530 hp and torque rises to a colossal 774 lb-ft. This results in performance that belies the car's 5853-pound curb weight: the sprint to 60 mph takes only 5.0 seconds, and the big Bentley's top speed is 184 mph, which is why the optional carbon-ceramic brakes might be worth a look--Bentley claims that they are the largest diameter discs on any production passenger car for sale today. The company also says the rear cabin is the most spacious of any current coupe, something we wouldn't doubt, having tried it on for size at the Geneva auto show last March. Bentley expects the Brooklands to do well in the Middle East, where relentless sun and heat make convertibles a far less popular option. At press time, the first year's production of this handbuilt behemoth already had been sold out.