The Bentley Brooklands is not for everyone—and that’s exactly how the British automaker wants it. Bentley is only making 550 Brooklands, and most of those will be safely stored in private collections as immobilized prized possessions. Really, that’s what Bentleys are—works of art. They’re made entirely by hand according to the individual’s taste. The Brooklands embodies the fine art of the car manufacturing process from start to the finish, which I discovered on a European excavation of Bentley’s latest marquee.

If the Brooklands is art, its finest gallery is on the open road. Though they look beautiful standing still with long, sloping, elegant 213-inch curves, the Brooklands is at its best when you’re behind the wheel. It’s especially fabulous to drive a Brooklands in the fairytale setting of Florence, Italy along enchanted winding roads, with the scent of fresh flowers and dewy air engaging the senses—as I did one fine spring day on a test drive mission.

Florence, Italy is in heart of Tuscany where everything smells, tastes and feels good. The food is fresh, flavorful and robust. The women are beautiful, and the men are dashing. Extraordinary villas offer views akin to postcard dreams. People are in no hurry here—it’s the quality of life that matters most.

Bentley wisely chose Florence to launch the Brooklands. The tiny town is filled with craftsmen who approach their work with patient care—the master perfumer, the winemaker, the glass blower—much like Bentley’s approach to its cars. Yet, setting the tone for this juxtaposition was my in-depth exploration of the Brooklands—from sheet metal to fine finish—in a quick dash to the home of Bentley in Crewe, a tiny town north of Manchester, England.

With meticulous fingers, woodworkers coaxed walnut, oak and other fine woods into shape. It’s a job that will take a single woodworker several hours to complete. He works steadily, in an even rhythm, but he is not rushed; he cannot afford to make a mistake. He is one of the 4,000 people who work at the Bentley factory. Here, Bentleys are handcrafted in painstaking deliberation. Only a few robots are onsite, making for a serene factory climate. There is no clanking of an assembly line cluttering the atmosphere with pounding machines. The floor is spotless, and the atmosphere is focused and intent. Workers use their bare hands to stretch eight miles of cabling.