With a top speed in excess of 200 miles per hour and more than 600 horsepower on command, the Bentley Continental Supersports was the most powerful automobile in the history of the company.
Everything about the Bentley Continental Supersports was engineered for a single purpose: to deliver the most thrilling driving experience possible from a Bentley. While it is both the fastest accelerating and fastest outright Bentley ever, the Supersports is no stripped-out track special; it’s as luxurious and refined as a Bentley ought to be – a true supercar, with comfort and speed.
BACKGROUND AND HISTORY:
The Supersports name made its debut in 1925 on a highly-tuned Bentley 3 Litre capable of a genuine 100mph. Just eighteen examples were built; the name was revised in 2009 with the 200+mph Continental Supersports, which earned its place in automotive history when ex-rally champ Juha Kankkunen set a new world ice speed record at the wheel. So the new model has quite a heritage to live up to, and prospective owners won’t be disappointed.
Unveiled in 2003 at the Geneva Motor Show, the Continental GT was a different animal altogether. Very importantly, the car differed significantly from the previous Continental R & T models in terms of its concept: although much of the car is hand assembled, it is a mass-produced car made in significantly larger numbers. It is not a coachbuilt car. As a result, the price at launch was significantly less than the Continental R (approximately half) and this immediately exposed the car to an entirely different and much wider customer base as a more affordable car. The Crewe-built car's numbers were impressive with twin-turbo VAG 6.0 litre W12 engines, developed in the VW Phaeton and stillborn W12 sports car, producing. 552bhp and 479lb ft torque. This prodigious output was fed through a six-speed automatic box from the new A8, and distributed by the Quattro four-wheel drive system. 0-60 in 4.7 seconds and a top speed of 196mph were significant for a car of this stature.
Some six years later, also in Geneva, Bentley unveiled their new Continental Supersports boasting 621 bhp and was indecently quick with 0-60mph in 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 204 mph, making it the fastest and the most powerful production Bentley ever. With a revised 'tiptronic' automatic gearbox employing a 'quick-shift' system, gear change times were reduced by 50%. In order to cope with the increased power, it was necessary to have carbon fibre-reinforced Silicon Carbide ceramic disc brakes - the largest and most powerful brakes ever fitted to a production car.
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