Continental Supersports - Bentley's fastest, most powerful ever. Also the cleanest?
Okay, we have to admit it. Unless you’re talking British Racing Green, that’s not the color we normally associate with the British brand, Bentley. But if the sneak peek we’re sharing of the Bentley Continental Supersports is any indication, there really may be such a thing as an environmentally-friendly – or at least “friendlier” – Bentley, and it’s making its debut appearance at this week’s Geneva Motor Show.
Bentley has a lot to live up to with a car named Supersports. It’s a direct link to the 1925 model of that name that was one of the fastest cars of its era and the first Bentley to push past the 100 mph mark.
“The Continental Supersports reflects the passion and enthusiasm of Bentley’s engineers and designers. This is the fastest, most extreme Bentley ever, dramatically styled to underline its supercar character. Importantly, it also pioneers the use of FlexFuel technology in the luxury sector,” says Dr. Franz-Josef Paefgen, Bentley’s Chairman and Chief Executive.
There’s certainly no mistaking the fact that the Continental Supersports is the fastest and most powerful product the ultra-luxury maker, a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, has ever brought to market. How fast? Does 0 to 60 in 3.7 seconds make your neck snap? How about 0 to 100 in 8.9 seconds, with a top speed of 204 miles per hour.
Can Bentley begin to live up to its environmental pledge with the bifuel Continental Supersports?
Driving you there is the latest Bentley 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged W12, which makes a jaw-dropping 621 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. The engine can be fired up on gasoline, E85, or any combination of the two. And Bentley claims that if you’re talking biofuel, you’ll get a net reduction of up to 70 percent in CO2 emissions. That is, of course, measured wells-to-wheels, so we’ll expect to hear some readers quibble over the specifics. But there’s no question that Bentley is facing the same tough standards that down-market siblings, such as VW, will have to address in the coming years.
This is the angle most folks will see of the Bentley Continental Supersports.
Okay, so we got the enviro details out of the way. What else will make your heart beat faster? How about a revised transmission with Bentley’s Quickshift system. In practical terms, it can cut shift times in half – and enable double downshifts.
The Supersports will feature carbon-ceramic brakes as standard equipment, with the British maker claiming they’re the largest and most powerful brakes ever fitted to a production car. So, if the numbers match up, in real world driving, you can expect whiplash and a bloody nose.
Two seats and 243 pounds lighter.
Good news, whether you do like your cars green, fast – or both – Bentley has chopped 243 pounds off the weight of the Supersports when compared to the Continental GT Speed, the previous performance record-holder for the brand. Cutting weight is a critical step in Bentley’s plans to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions.
One way to get there is with the use of lightweight materials, such as the carbon fiber luggage retaining beam. The rear seats, meanwhile, have been replaced by a stowage deck. Yes, a Bentley two-seater, with a distinctly driver-centric cabin.
Thee design will be familiar to those who know the basic Continental layout, but there are some nice new touches, some cosmetic, others clearly designed to enhance performance, such as the new flared rear wings. To get all that power to the ground and maximize handling, the Supersports’ rear track has been widened a full two inches.
What’s it like to drive? We can’t say…yet…but we’re certainly looking for a ride as soon as we can talk our friends in Bentley into inviting us by. (Are you listening, over in Crewe?)