  We analyze the dynamical implications of an exponential Lagrangian density
for the gravitational field, as referred to an isotropic FRW Universe. Then, we
discuss the features of the generalized deSitter phase, predicted by the new
Friedmann equation. The existence of a consistent deSitter solution arises only
if the ratio between the vacuum-energy density and that associated with the
fundamental length of the theory acquires a tantalizing negative character.
This choice allows us to explain the present universe dark energy as a relic of
the vacuum-energy cancellation due to the cosmological constant intrinsically
contained in our scheme. The corresponding scalar-tensor description of the
model is addressed too, and the behavior of the scalar field is analyzed for
both negative and positive values of the cosmological term. In the first case,
the Friedmann equation is studied both in vacuum and in presence of external
matter, while, in the second case, the quantum regime is approached in the
framework of ''repulsive'' properties of the gravitational interaction, as
described in recent issues in Loop Quantum Cosmology. In particular, in the
vacuum case, we find a pure non-Einsteinian effect, according to which a
negative cosmological constant provides an accelerating deSitter dynamics, in
the region where the series expansion of the exponential term does not hold.
