Bentley has lifted the covers off the Continental GT Supersports, the most driver focused Continental model to date and the start of the brand’s return to ‘making more extreme cars’, according to its Chairman and CEO, Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser.
This isn’t the first time Bentley has given its cossetting GT a racy makeover, though it’s taken a different approach than with previous Supersports cars. Where the last model took the title of the most powerful Bentley ever at its 2017 launch, with its 700bhp 6.0 W12, this latest Supersports slots in as the least powerful Continental GT currently offered.
Instead, Bentley has focused on reducing weight and improving agility, most notably by ditching the Conti’s plug-in hybrid motor and battery, as well as the four-wheel-drive system, to create not only the first rear-driven Continental GT, but also the first to tip the scales at under two-tonnes.
The crash diet also extends to a carbon fibre roof, fewer interior speakers, reduced sound insulation and the deletion of the rear seats.
The W12 may be firmly consigned to the dustbin of history, but despite being shorn of 188bhp of electrical assistance, the latest 4.0-litre V8 isn’t exactly wheezy. Larger turbos push power to a maximum 657bhp. That’s 14bhp down on the hybrid, but the weight savings see the 0-62mph sprint slashed by half a second, compared to the PHEV GT Speed model, to 3.7 seconds.
In typical Supersports fashion, the exterior styling might be described by stuffier members of the Bentley owner’s club as pushing the boundaries of good taste. The jutting front splitter adorned with racy dive planes, aggressive sills and fixed rear spoiler might get you laughed at by your golfing buddies, but they do at least serve a real purpose, producing up to 300kg more downforce than the regular Conti GT and optimising cooling airflow to the engine and front brakes.
To increase agility, the Supersports is fitted with a rear e-LSD, torque vectoring, rear-wheel steering and a wider rear-track. The twin-chamber air suspension units have also been recalibrated.
The comprehensive makeover doesn’t end there. The eight-speed ZF automatic box has been beefed up and boasts quicker shift times. The Supersports also sits on lightweight forged 22-inch alloys (developed with Manthey Racing for genuine bragging rights) hiding massive carbon brakes. There’s also a titanium Akrapovic exhaust running nose to tail.
Bentley is limiting production to 500 units. Don’t worry about missing the boat just yet, though – order books don’t open until March.
