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DRIVETIME THE APPELLATION 'GT' (from the Italian 'Gran Turismo' or 'Grand Tourer') was originally coined in the 1920s when manufacturers like Alfa Romeo and Lancia started combing their passion for high performance with vehicles offering sumptuous levels of luxury and refinement. Back then GT cars were targeted at wealthy customers who wanted to travel far, very fast, in absolute comfort. This still holds true today, and in 2011 the quintessential Italian GT is the Ferrari 599 GTB or the Maserati Gran Turismo GTS. But you'll also find a GT badge on all sorts of unworthy pretenders. Volkswagen has a version of the Golf called the GTD. The 'D' stands for 'diesel'. Now, diesels have many virtues, but they are not performance engines worthy of the GT moniker. Yet. The British have been enthusiastic supporters of the GT genre for nearly as long as the Italians. Jaguar doesn't apply the badge to its cars, but the E-Type was a pure grand tourer, and today's XK coupe also deserves the honour. Aston Martin's Vantage and DB9s are true GTs. They are ferociously quick and though often stirred, you're never shaken. 98 travel&living www.travelandliving.com.au Bentley's Continental GT is without doubt, though, the most luxurious example of the breed. The Bentley brand has a glittering history of fine hoonmobiles, dating from the 1920s when 'The Bentley Boys' – a motley crew of professional race drivers, self- made performance car enthusiasts and young aristocrats intent on blowing their daddies' fortunes – raced the cars throughout Europe, winning Le Mans four times. There are usually one or two Bentleys in any wealthy petrol head's fast- car collection. The GT is so important to the Bentley stable that it actually saved the car maker from oblivion. The Continental GT coupe was released in 2003: in the 80 years prior to its release Bentley had sold just 16,000 cars world-wide. In the eight years since then, Bentley has sold 25,000 Continental GTs alone. There's no doubt this car is the reason Bentley is still with us. 2011 marks the first major update of the GT and it comes at a critical time for Bentley. The company is again struggling, racking up losses of €425 million in 2010. However this time its salvation will probably be the insatiable appetite of