Tag Archives: Bentley Continental

Bentley Drifts The Continental GT Speed To Prove It Can Be Raucous As Well As Stately

Bentley has taken the new Continental GT Speed to an abandoned airbase in Sicily to prove that, despite its luxurious demeanor, it’s as raucous as you would expect from a 12-cylinder coupe.

Once the largest NATO airbase in southern Europe, the site has been abandoned for almost 30 years. The film sees the Continental GT Speed race through the airbase that Bentley says was turned into a gymkhana-style playground for the video.

“After the team discovered Comiso Air Station for the launch of the GT Speed, and we’d agreed to create a gymkhana-style course there, the next step was to design a film unlike anything we’d shot before,” said Mike Sayer, head of product communications at Bentley. “Sliding a metallic yellow Bentley around an abandoned airbase is certainly an experience and new territory for us, but the result shows just how dynamic the best Grand Tourer in the world has become.”

Read Also: The Bentley Continental GT Speed Is An Opulent Coupe That Packs A Really Big Punch

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The film was shot by David Hale, an award-winning automotive filmmaker, who was supported by drone pilot and videographer Mark Fagelson.

For the video, the new Continental GT Speed was joined by a 1952 R-Type Continental from Bentley’s heritage collection. In its day, the car was the fastest four-seater in the world and, according to the brand, was the inspiration for the design of the modern Continental GT.

The Continental GT Speed is powered by a twin-turbo W12 engine that produces 626 hp (635 PS/467 kW) and 664 lb-ft (900 Nm) of torque. Although it sends its power to all four wheels, the majority of the torque is sent to the rear, helping it perform the drifts in this video.

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Bentley’s 850 HP Pikes Peak Continental GT3 Vs. A 600 HP Honda Civic Type R Seems Like An Unfair Fight

The challenges unique to the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb are many and this results in a lot of unique race cars. Take, for example, Bentley’s Continental GT3 Pikes Peak racer.

Although it’s based on a GT3 car that competes in sports car racing around the world, the one seen in this episode of Hoonigan’s “This vs That” drag racing series has completely bespoke aero, optimized cooling, and the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 is running 850 hp (862 PS/633 kW).

Weighing in at 3,020 lbs (1,370 kg), it’s also a featherweight when everything is considered. In fact, it weighs about 280 lbs (127 kg) less than a 2019 Honda Civic Type R modified to be the ultimate sleeper.

Read Also: This Is Bentley’s Continental GT3 For The Pikes Peak – And It Looks Really Wild

Unfortunately, the unique demands of Pikes Peak mean that, although the Continental GT is extremely fast, it is by no means optimized for drag racing. Thus the 600 hp (600 PS/447 kW) Civic fares better than you’d expect against the 850 hp (862 PS/633 kW) Bentley that has tons of aero designed for high altitudes, a surprising inability to launch quickly, and the temperament of a true thoroughbred race car.

In the first race, a 1,500-foot (457-meter) drag from a standstill, the Civic Type R looks like it might be able to keep up for the first few feet. Once the Bentley takes off, though, it runs away from the Honda like a rocket.

Although there should be no controversy about the Bentley being the faster of the two cars, when the Civic Type R is given a headstart and the race is shrunk to 1,000 feet (305 meters), it manages to hang on for the win. That might also have to do with the fact that the Bentley‘s battery system was failing, something that prevents it from even putting up a fight in the final roll race.

All of which is an interesting lesson in how specialized race cars are these days and also how temperamental they remain.

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Bentley Is Going For A Third Record At Pikes Peak With A Continental GT3

Bentley has announced that it will return to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb for the final time. This will be the British brand’s third run in as many years up the legendary Colorado mountain.

Bentley has not yet fully revealed what record it intends to shoot for, but it has said that it will run a Continental GT3 with customer team FastR.

The Continental GT3 is powered by a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 with Cosworth engine management. Derestricted, Bentley reckons it’s good for more than 550 bhp that’s sent to the rear wheels via a Ricardo six-speed sequential gearbox with an AP racing clutch. The driveshaft is made of carbon fiber and the car it features double-wishbone suspension front and rear with four-way adjustable race dampers.

Read More: Bentley Continental GT Breaks Pikes Peak World Record For Production Cars

A carbon fiber front splitter and rear wing increase downforce, though those will likely be enlarged quite a bit for the high-altitudes of Pikes Peak.

Bentley has been building up to this run, setting records in 2019 and in 2020. In its first year, it set the production SUV record with the Bentayga with a time of 10:49.9, making it faster than a Tesla Model 3 Performance that ran in 2020.

It then set the outright production car record in 2020 with a Continental GT. Like the Bentayga, the Continental GT was driven by Rhys Millen and the W12-powered coupe made it to the top of the mountain in 10:18.488.

Although Bentley has not revealed what record it will attempt to beat with the Continental GT3, the Pikes Peak Time Attack division’s 9:36.559 record is currently held by a 2019 Porsche GT2 RS Clubsport and seems like a good target.

The overall record is held by the purpose-built Volkswagen ID.R electric racer, which in 2018 set a time of 7:57.148.

Bentley will unveil its full plan for the hill climb on Friday, April 9 and has revealed that this will be its last attempt for the foreseeable future. The 2021 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb will take place on June 27.

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Bentley Launches New Tweed Interior Options For Full Model Range

Mulliner, Bentley‘s bespoke commissioning division, is offering buyers the option for a sophisticated tweed door trim on their Flying Spur, Continental GT or Bentayga.

There are a total of four contemporary tweed patterns, each featuring a tactile wool finish which is said to transform the cabin of your British luxury sedan, coupe or SUV, into a “robust yet tranquil environment”.

Starting with Cheltenham and its countryside greens, this pattern is more traditional than the others, whereas the Glen Plaid-Tolsta Beach one supposedly makes “a confident statement with its bold check pattern.” Meanwhile, the Charcoal and Sand Herringbone tweeds provide a more subtle yet contemporary choice.

Related: Bentley Details Continental GTC’s Tweed Effect Fabric Roof

The tweed used by Bentley is sourced from Lovat Mill in the Scottish Borders town of Hawick, where the facility is said to have absolutely no adverse impact on the local natural environment. The ultimate focus for the British brand is to use more and more sustainable materials in the production of its luxury vehicles, in line with its recently announced Beyond100 strategy.

The new tweed options will be showcased in Mulliner’s latest version of the Personal Commissioning Guide – the goal here is to streamline the commissioning process.

Meanwhile, other personalization capabilities that can mix and match with the tweed door trim include the headrest embroidery and marquetry, with endless possibilities for the Flying Spur, Continental GT, and GTC. Altogether, the guide features a significant number of elements that can be personalized with over 70 options.

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