England's Finest

St George was, of course, a Roman soldier born in ancient Palestine, and is also the patron saint of Lithuania and the city of Beirut.

Still, no reason not to seize upon today's celebrations to bring you Top Gear's finest English motors from the last few years. One of them is actually German, mind you.

Right. Before we lose our train of thought entirely in increasingly muddied national waters, here is the very best of El Britannia. To Saint George!

This little Somerset Pyscho packs a whopping 500bhp from its 2.4-litre supercharged V8, in a frame weighing fractionally less than your average American (500kgs).

The 0-62mph sprint takes less than 2.5 seconds (faster than a Veyron) and it boasts a power-to-weight ratio of 1,000bhp per tonne (faster than a Veyron). We suspect it might be Faster Than A Veyron. Or fast enough to remould JC's face...

Yes, it's that car - the one that Bond couldn't drive in Casino Royale (it was, sadly, totalled).

But aside from the teenage 007 fantasies, this is one of the finest supercars on Planet Earth. A glorious 6-litre V12 and ice-cold looks make this a bewitching beauty queen with a punch like David Haye.

This is "the fastest, most hardcore Bentley that's ever been produced with a top speed of 204mph."

A 621bhp twin-turbo W12 engine means lots of power and torques, making this one of the finest performance luxury cars in production.

Hard. That's what the R500 is. Bloody hard. Harder than a dog-loving bare-knuckle boxing champion with a few Stellas in him for good measure, hard.

A 2-litre 263bhp Ford engine in a 588kgs body means 0-62mph in 2.88 seconds and the wrong side of an enema. Gloriously ballistic.

The big fat Jaaaag is an astonishing piece of kit - even if it falls just short of the BMW M5.

But as a thing to cruise around in at eye-watering speeds without looking like a complete t- well, you get the picture. 

"No sound deadening, no carpets, no central locking, no sun visors, no mudflaps - everything in the Exige Cup 260 is absolutely functional.

"There isn't a better example of Colin Chapman's ‘light is right' philosophy, the whole package designed to let the driver get on with the driving, free of distractions."

Hell. Yes.

More comfortable than sleeping in a cloud made of Angelina Jolie's lips and powerful enough to shatter the idyll to bits, the Phantom Coupe is one of the coolest cabrios on earth.

It also comes - as standard - with a personal manservant ready to bludgeon peasants and beggars to death with a diamond-encrusted cane. Really. 

1966, the Ashes, and the McLaren F1 - all moments of outstanding British glory.

And when our Hamster took it to some sand in the middle of the east, the old girl still packed enough testicles to keep up with the Big Dog Bugatti. Magnificent.

How can something built by some blokes in Leicestershire be this good?

Who cares. It's got a twin-turbo V8 pushing out 650bhp and will hit 62mph from rest in just three seconds and crack on to 225mph. Or when your ears/nose/heart explodes.

This is what the Batmobile would look like if the Dark Knight lived in the 1930s.

With a 4.8-litre V8 engine and a 0-62mph time of just 4.2 seconds, the Aeromax is pretty rapid. Plus Hammond's got one.