Jay Leno gets his hands on some of the coolest cars you can think of, and some you can’t. You may remember the old Bentley that Jeremy Clarkson drove back on Top Gear’s season 18, a car that had a 27-liter Merlin V12 from a Spitfire fighter under the bonnet, as well as additional modifications in order to make it a modern car that can be driven on the road.

None of it was for show. The car is actually perfectly drivable, and according to Leno, it’s quite civilized and not at all taxing to drive. The Victorian fireplace powering it is never stressed, and even when you’re keeping up with traffic on the highway, it’s still just barely ticking over.

The power figure is estimated to be around 650 to 700 (supercharged) hp, though, as you can imagine from the massive displacement, it’s the torque that really matters in this configuration.

It’s not practical due to its size, it probably drinks all the petrol in the world, but like any tasteful resto-mod, it’s designed to be an enjoyable experience for the driver (and up to 3 passengers), and in that respect nothing of this kind could beat it.

By Andrei Nedelea

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