666hp, RWD Bentley Supersports debuts in New York
500kg lighter than a GT, Manthey wheels and 440mm brake discs - the Supersports is more serious than ever
Say hello to Bentley’s Project Mildred, aka the new Supersports. Apparently Mildred was the codename for the rear-wheel drive project, designed to keep it secret, though calling anything Mildred - and not 27_ADexpL or something - in a modern day organisation is surely likely to attract attention. Whatever, it celebrates Mildred Mary Petre, who once drove a Bentley 4 ½ Litre around Montlhery for an entire day straight, averaging 90mph in the process. In 1929. A new rear-wheel drive Bentley is cool, but not as cool as being an endurance record breaker called Mildred. Just thought we should kick off with that.
So here it is, then, the first rear-wheel drive Continental GT, the first Continental GT to weigh less than two tonnes, and the lightest Bentley in 85 years. Only don’t call it a Continental GT; this is just a Supersports, as per the previous two W12-powered machines, in homage to the 1925 Super Sports that was lighter, faster and much rarer than the 3 Litre of the time. This latest Supersports is the most extreme representation of those principles yet; where the previous 21st century cars were about sheer power and top speed (all the way up to 710hp and 209mph), this one focuses more on lightweighting for ‘scintillating purist-focused performance.’
Naturally, there’s still huge power, just not as much as before. The Supersports uses the 666hp version of the 4.0-litre twin turbo V8 used in the Bentayga Speed, shorn of any of the GT’s hybridisation, and mated to a modified version of eight-speed DCT promising sharper shifts. Bentley suggests that 0-62mph in 3.7 seconds should be possible, with a top speed in the region of 192mph. Even a little bit less than an old Supersports is still mighty fast. And remember, speed is not the be all and end all here - it’s the experience that matters as much. And saving weight. So here the V8 breathes through a bespoke titanium exhaust created with Akrapovic; it will save a few kilos, as well as offer an ‘extremely compelling’ sound - with no manipulation.
Weight saving measures can be found throughout the Supersports. Eliminating the PHEV system will of course account for the bulk of the slimming down - an exact sub-two-tonne weight hasn’t been confirmed, but ‘nearly half a tonne lighter’ than the 2,459kg GT is claimed - however it isn’t the only measure. The 22-inch wheels are forged (and have been developed with Manthey Racing of all people), behind which sit the largest brakes of any production car: 440mm front carbon ceramic rotors, 410mm at the rear. Apparently some driver assistance features that aren’t required for this car have also been disposed of. The roof is now carbon fibre, the interior is two-seat spec like the old GT3-R (with less sound insulation), and, most notably, there’s no longer any drive to the front wheels.
In more than 20 years of making them, Bentley has never produced a rear-drive Continental GT for the road. So this Supersports feels like quite a big deal in that respect, particularly with such power. Bentley is leaning fully into the fact, too, with a custom chassis setup for this car that should offer ‘a new level of driver engagement.’ So the rear track is 16mm wider than standard, rear steer is retained despite so much less weight, the dampers are new and all the important systems - suspension, steering, ESC - have been recalibrated for this racier installation. And, yes, everything can be turned off, for ‘significant but highly controllable oversteer’. Who wouldn’t want more of that in their life?
Up to that point, the familiar drive modes have been reworked for a little more fizz. Touring is now said to be akin to Sport in a Continental, the Bentley setting opens up the exhaust valves and further tautens the chassis, while Sport offers the ‘ultimate optimisation for driver engagement and tuned for maximum chassis and powertrain response.’ Sport sounds quite good fun.
There’s more, too. Before you complain about the dive planes, the side sills, the diffuser or the largest aerodynamic splitter ever fitted to a roadgoing Bentley, bear in mind that the Supersports can boast more than 300kg of downforce over a Continental GT. So they definitely aren’t just there for show. Indeed when those upgrades (yes, a Supersports spoiler is back) are combined with the standard Pirelli Trofeo RS tyres, it’s reckoned that this Bentley can offer up 1.3g of peak lateral force - meaning cornering speeds around 30 per cent faster than a Continental GT…
And if that just doesn’t seem like cricket for a new Bentley, rest assured that what remains of a Supersports interior can be as opulently appointed as you like. Bentley says the car is ‘redefining performance-focused luxury’, so it’s only right that the driving environment does as well. Therefore the heavily bolstered new seats retain heating plus electric adjustment (and some lovely embroidery), the carbon tub where the rear seats were is leather wrapped, the plaque is individually numbered, and then there’s the customisation… 22 Main Hide colours, 11 Secondary Hide colours and nine Accent Hide colours can be specified in a single-tone, duo-tone or new-for-Supersports tri-tone split. Which will take some thinking about. That all feels very Bentley, even if rear-wheel drive and track tyres might take a little more getting used to.
On the outside, the 500 owners of the Supersports will initially be offered 24 ‘performance focused colours’ (Mulliner is on hand for special requests), with five ‘Design Themes’ also available. They add the Supersports stripes seen here, which can also be on the rear if preferred. Those incredible Manthey wheels can be either Black Painted (boo) or Black Painted and Machined (a little bit better). Put simply, the days of limited run Bentleys like the GT3-R, offered only in very limited colourways, are long gone.
Bentley’s CEO and Chairman, Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser (a man who knows a thing or two about lightweight, low volume specials), said: The new Supersports is more than just the most driver-focused Bentley yet. It signifies a return to Bentley making more extreme cars - ones that combine extraordinary breadth of ability with true driver engagement, while remaining pieces of automotive artwork unique and bespoke to each customer… This is the first project developed from start to finish since I joined Bentley Motors, and I’m proud of our team and the speed at which we’ve created a car so different to the GT on which it’s based.” The 500 cars will officially open for orders in March, though surely a purely combustion Bentley of this calibre will be oversubscribed long before then. Production will kick off at Crewe at the end of next year, with first deliveries in 2027. For those with the £300,000 or so likely required, that surely won’t be able to come soon enough.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff