Bentley celebrates Le Mans wins with limited editions Continental GT and GTC
Bentley represents the pinnacle of driving excellence and high-speed performance and stability. Here is how it intends to celebrate this.
The first Le Mans race was held 100 years ago. Bentley won six of these races since – the last one 20 years ago.
To celebrate its success, Bentley is building a limited edition of Continental GTs and GTCs. These will be powered by 12-cylinder engines.
All Le Mans Collection models are specified with the three-way Bentley Rotating Display, offering a choice of touchscreen and dual veneer or analogue dials. In place of the standard central dial is a Vitrine displaying an engine valve from the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 of the 2003 Le Mans-winning Bentley Speed 8. The engine was removed after the contest and preserved, and now 24 of the 32 valves from the engine have been bisected to create 48 artefacts for this exclusive collection of ultimate grand tourers.
The standard 12-hour analogue clock will be replaced by a digital clock with a bespoke dial design – a 24-hour one, naturally.
Tribute to Speed 8 #7
Mulliner’s designers closely studied the winning Speed 8 of 2003, surely one of the most beautiful racing cars ever to triumph at Le Mans. The limited number of Continental GTs and Continental GTCs in the Le Mans Collection is finished in Verdant green, with a Moonbeam racing stripe across the bonnet (and coupe roof).
Meanwhile, the distinctive Bentley matrix grille (originally developed to protect the radiator on the unpaved Le Mans racetrack of the 1920s) features a painted #7 in Arctica white, combining the race-winning number of 2003 with the painted radiators of the Bentleys that won Le Mans five times between 1924 and 1930.
Bespoke details
The interiors of the Le Mans Collection Continental GT and Continental GTC are far more luxurious than those of the Bentley Speed 8s, but there’s the same sense of sporting purpose.
The Le Mans Collection Bentleys feature many bespoke details, beginning with the Speed 8 sill plates and six-wreath treadplates that greet occupants on entering the interior. The fascia displays the six-wreath emblem inlaid into high-gloss carbon fibre, marking each of the six outright victories recorded by Bentley at Le Mans between 1924 and 2003.
Race inspired performance
The Le Mans Collection Continental GT and GTC are equipped with Bentley’s renowned 6.0-litre W12 TSI engine, delivering 659PS (650bhp) and an extraordinary 900Nm.
With exceptional handling, this results in a top speed of 335km/h and 0-100km/h in 3.6 seconds.
Bentley Dynamic Ride and three-chamber active air suspension with adaptive damping plays a key role in the balance of the car and provide a formidable foundation to build upon. The optional and newly developed carbon ceramic brakes, variable electronic stability control, all-wheel steering and an electronic limited slip differential bolster the agility and performance even further.
Bentley was back in 2001 with the EXP Speed 8, the start of a three-year programme targeting a sixth outright victory. And on Sunday, June 15, 2003, Bentley’s two-works Speed 8s finished first and second in this most gruelling of endurance races. Car #7 of Guy Smith, Tom Kristensen and Rinaldo Capello covered 377 laps at an average speed of 214.33km/h, followed by the #8 Speed 8 of Johnny Herbert, Mark Blundell and David Brabham.
Source: Newspress
