The Bentley GTC.

There's a difference between saying car and automobile.  Cars are something you use mindlessly, automobiles are something you enjoy.

And when it's a Bentley, you know it's an automobile.

So if you've ever wondered what automotive Nirvana looks like, it probably looks like the Bentley Continental GTC. The GTC has a twin-turbocharged, 6-liter, W-12 engine good for 552 hp and its ability to hit 60 mph in 4.8 seconds and achieve a full speed just shy of 200 mph.  

For those that don't understand the language of cars: that's a big, beautiful engine that feels like nothing you've ever driven before.

Elizabeth Rusnak-Arizmendi

"Oh, is it fun to drive!" laughs Elizabeth Rusnak-Arizmendi of Rusnak Auto Group in Old Pasadena.  

The immaculate exterior shields a passenger cabin with supple leather  and wood paneling and a sound system which shames Carnegie Hall. All this — and it's a convertible.

At an MSRP of $189,990, cars this fabulous usually go for twice as much.

Furthermore, it's been praised across the board.

The editors of Robb Report selected the Bentley Continental GTC as the magazine's 2007 Car of the Year, citing "remarkable drivability, superb handling, a clean and well-executed design, and minimal performance concessions in the interest of open-air driving."

Stephan Wilkinson of ForbesAutos.com called it "the world's best four-seat convertible," adding "Bentley has combined unstinting German support from corporate parent Volkswagen/Audi with top-drawer British craftsmanship to create a new sweet spot in the ultra-luxury market: $170,000 to $190,000 cars with such superb furnishings and performance that you have to wonder whether it makes sense to pay up to twice as much for cars of no discernibly greater value."

"People started putting down deposits on this car two years [before it was available]," Rusnak-Arizmendi says.  "The ultimate luxurious coach meets ultimate power."

It is an amazing vehicle.  

And now you can understand why Pasadena Rusnak's allotment of this autombile is completely sold out.  

"There are not a lot of dealerships in the U.S., California is number two [in Bentleys sold], so we get a lot of the product. But if they only drop so many in the United States, there's only so many to go around."

Better get ready to put down the deposits on next year's model.

To plan ahead, get more information on the new Bentley Continental GTC by visiting Bentley Pasadena at 285 West Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena 91105 or call the Executive Sales Team at (888)590-5343. http://bentley.rusnakautogroup.com/