We belt Bentley's most powerful car ever at the Bahrain International Circuit
Nitish Ramanujam

Six years after launching the Continental GT, Bentley has come up with an edgy, hardcore variant - the Supersports. We belt the big one on the wonderful Sakhir Formula One circuit in Bahrain, and come back with a lot of newfound respect for the illustrious car maker’s racing heritage.

When the Continental GT was launched in 2003, it had its role perfectly cut out as the ultimate toy for moneyed folks, playboys a good bit younger than those wafting around Monaco in their Arnages and Azures. Sparkling success as it was, Bentley strengthened the range with the more powerful 'Speed' in 2007, which was followed by the GTC Speed two years later. But enough is never enough in a world where you have a bank balance rivalling the GDP of some small nations, and so the British car maker started on a secret mission to concoct something even better than the existing cars, something a bit more hardcore that would appeal to the enthusiast driver.

The Continental Supersports began as an 'under the radar' project exploring the possibilities of weight reduction on the Continental GT but with more power and torque. A largely experimental process crystallised over a period of 24 months into an official new car programme, driven by the passion and enthusiasm of a small group of Bentley engineers and designers.

As such, it's the fastest and most powerful Bentley ever - a muscular two-seater that delivers supercar performance and a highly focused driving experience. The Supersports is also the first Bentley capable of running on both petrol and biofuel, pioneering the use of FlexFuel technology in the luxury sector. This represents stage one of the company's commitment to make its complete model range compatible with renewable fuels by 2012.

On the outside
The Supersports is further distinguished from its Continental coupe stablemates by a unique dark-smoked steel finish to all exterior 'brightware', including front grilles, lamp bezels, window surrounds and wheels. A complex 'Physical Vapour Deposition' process is applied to all stainless steel components to give a lustrous and highly durable finish.

At the front, Supersports has a simple 'letter box' centre air intake flanked by two vertical grilles which give the car dramatic differentiation, making it seem wider and lower, while feeding a larger volume of cooling air to the intercoolers. Two new bonnet vents extract hot air from the engine bay.

At the rear, the subtly curved wheel arches are extended by 25mm each side, necessitating newly tooled panels, to accommodate the increased track of the uprated chassis. They provide the Supersports with a muscular stance, complemented by the new lightweight, 20-inch, 10-spoke alloy wheels. The very open design allows a clear view of the carbon ceramic brake discs and calipers. A new bumper with a black finish to the lower valance, houses larger, unique elliptical exhaust pipes with a discreet vertical divider.

The work place
Fully embracing the extreme spirit of Supersports, Bentley's designers have created a unique ambience for the interior of this most 'driver focused' of Bentley cars. They have crafted a dedicated two-seat cabin that blends traditional leather hide with carbon fibre, Alcantara and 'Soft Touch' leather.

Light weight carbon fibre replaces wood veneer on the fascia and centre console, while the new lightweight front sports seats feature a carbon fibre clamshell back and save a total of 45kg over the GT Speed. The rear seats are replaced by a stowage deck area with a carbon fibre luggage retaining beam.

Further enhancing the sporty ambience are drilled alloy foot-pedals and 'Supersports' logos to the polished treadplates.

The motor
For the Continental Supersports, Bentley engineers have created the most powerful engine in the company's 90-year history. Bentley's renowned 6-litre, twin-turbocharged W12 now develops 621bhp at 6000rpm, an increase of 3.5 per cent compared with the Continental GT Speed. Maximum torque of 800Nm, up by 6.7 per cent, is achieved from 1700rpm across virtually the entire rev range for effortless power delivery.

The extra power and torque resulting from the increased turbocharger boost necessitated a 10 per cent increase in air flow to the intercoolers and radiators. Dramatically-styled front air intakes feed the intercoolers behind, while twin bonnet vents ensure positive extraction of hot air above the engine. These changes also help to increase downforce at the front, balanced by the addition of a re-profiled spoiler on the rear aerofoil with a raised rear edge.

The experience
The differences are immediately obvious on the track. Pulling away from the pits, the motor is a completely different beast, responding that bit faster than its siblings. The new 'Quickshift' version of the 6-speed ZF automatic transmission is engineered exclusively for the Continental Supersports. Shift time has been cut by 50 per cent and the revised transmission also helps double downshifts, say from 6th down to 4th, and all the visual drama on the circuit is accompanied by a thunderous soundtrack and delicious blips when you swap down the cogs. During upshifts, fuel and ignition are cut momentarily to give faster mechanical shift times through torque reduction, also improving shift quality and durability.

Acceleration times are improved, response times throughout the whole gear range are enhanced and engine braking can be better exploited during enthusiastic driving. The result is a driving experience with a sportier feel and sound. To cope with the additional power and torque, the planetary gear set of the ZF transmission is also strengthened. The increased power and torque, snappy ‘box and a 110kg reduction in weight endow the Supersports with a top speed of 329kph and a 0-100kph time of just 3.9 seconds.

The Supersports' high performance is complemented by an array of chassis enhancements and weight reductions to deliver a much grittier driving experience. The four-link front suspension features high stiffness aluminium uprights and lightweight aluminium forward levers. The anti-roll bar geometry is retuned for improved roll stiffness, while the Servotronic speed-sensitive steering system is tuned for sharper turn-in and improved feel.

The front and rear suspensions benefit from changes to the Continous Damping Control system that improve body control. As with the GT Speed, the suspension is lowered by 10mm at the front and 15mm at the rear for optimal handling.

Agility is further sharpened by a revision to the continuous all-wheel drive system, which provides exceptional traction in all weathers. As before, the drive is transferred between the front and rear axles automatically via a Torsen centre differential which automatically sends more power to the wheels with greater grip.

For the Supersports, the standard 50/50 front/rear torque split is replaced by 40/60 split with a rear-bias. This provides for better modulation of line and attitude by 'throttle steering' as well as neutral acceleration out of bends.