Compared: Bentley Continental GT Vs. Mercedes-Benz CL-Class

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2009 Bentley Continental GT

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It's a clash of the Titanics: two hefty German-engineered two-doors battling it out for bragging rights in the mortgage-priced coupe class.

In this corner, the Bentley Continental GT, weighing in at a staggering 5500 pounds. It's a steamer locomotive of a coupe, though, with a twin-turbo W-12 engine pumping out more than 550 horsepower--and that's before you tune it to Speed trim, or shear off the top to make it a Conti GTC. At a base price of $179,200, this British bomber has a Volkswagen-engineered heart, four-wheel drive, a big appetite for fuel and an uncanny way of feeling like the cigar bar at the Ritz-Carlton, if you could hurl it into the atmosphere without spilling a drop of cognac.

In the other corner, another German two-door with unparalleled road-covering capability. Here, it's the 5000-pound Mercedes-Benz CL-Class, and instead of one drivetrain, it comes with your choice of four--two different V-8s or two different V-12s, with an automatic transmission and rear-wheel or all-wheel drive. It's less bespoke than the Bentley, but the suave good looks wear well in any season--and there's enough technology wadded up inside to launch it to speeds that match the Bentley, tenth of a second for tenth of a second.

Which one oozes luxury just as copiously as it pegs performance needles? This comparison from TheCarConnection.com should put an end to the Benz CL vs. Bentley Continental GT debate--or keep it going.

But first, the basics: