Bentley Supersports 'Bumblebee' | PH Auction Block
Pay enough and Bentley will make a car any which way - bet you've never seen anything like this, though...
No doubt about it, the new Bentley Supersports sounds incredible. That much power and that little weight (for a Bentley) in a rear-wheel drive Continental GT should be very exciting indeed. Especially considering the advances made in recent years for the core Bentley model, with rear-wheel steer, eLSDs and smarter assists really bringing the big beast to life.
All that being said, the launch pictures weren’t half dull. Burnouts that didn’t look quite right, nighttime statics on a runway, and a grey with gold colour scheme that really didn’t do the mechanical spec justice. And Bentley, because it’s Bentley, has been so good at this stuff in the past: the white and green GT3-R looked brilliant (the special commissions perhaps even more so), the Pikes Peak Editions were nothing if not bold, and anything with the Mulliner badge tends to be rather eye-catching. Let’s hope for some more stimulating Supersports as its 2027 arrival approaches.
Because just look at the precedent that’s been set. This Supersports is one of the 630hp originals, launched at the 2009 Geneva motor show. Affectionately, and totally unsurprisingly, known as Bumblebee, it is a factory commission - this Bentley left Crewe looking like this. The only third-party add-ons are the Bumblebee badges. The story goes that then CEO at Bentley, Wolfgang Durheimer fancied the colour combo for his own car; Mulliner made it happen, and a few customers were also keen once they’d seen the finished item. In total, it’s thought that just six Bumblebee Supersports were made, including Durheimer’s, so even by Bentley standards it’s a very rare specimen. The ideal car for visiting the Bentley bees in Crewe as well.
The colourway wasn’t just for the outside either - check out the interior. The yellow extends from the seat stitching to the shift paddles and the dash to the carpets; while it’s not clear whether every grey and yellow Supersports went this far, certainly the first owner of this one fully embraced the Bumblebee theme. And a discreetly appointed driving environment really wouldn’t suit…
Away from the obvious, it’s a lovely example of the Supersports, with just 27,000 miles under those amazing wheels and stacks of Bentley service history; the most recent inspection was this month, at a cost of almost £3,000. The MOT runs until 2027 (!), and only two people owned the Bumblebee before the current custodian acquired it in 2016. Plenty to be encouraged by there, for sure.
And let’s not forget that this is no ordinary Continental GT, either - at launch the Supersports was the most powerful, most driver-focused Conti up to that point, with 630hp and a new 40:60 split to the all-wheel drive. It’s a badge that Bentley saves for its best derivatives, the latest only the third in the 20-plus years of the GT’s existence. The Supersports after this one was 710hp strong, for proof of just how seriously Bentley takes the badge. As a fine example of a rare W12 Bentley in an unforgettable spec, the Bumblebee is undeniably impressive. Not for everyone, perhaps, but then wouldn’t it be boring if we all liked the same things?
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