Bentley reveals radical performance model

BRITISH luxury marque Bentley has teased a hard-core Continental model in a teaser video, drip-feeding information about the “return of an iconic name”, with sleek aero and a rumoured focus on lightness over outright power.

The 20-second video, posted to the brand’s social media channels on October 1, reveals a vehicle inside a bunker, clearly a Continental but more aesthetically hard-core than the current line-up’s performance-focused GT Speed.

While the video’s caption is cryptic, it offers more than enough clues to suggest the return of the Continental Supersports, which hasn’t been updated since 2018.

The caption suggests that “the return of an iconic name to Bentley is imminent, 100 years after it was first introduced,” likely referencing the first Supersports model in 1925, which in its day was a world-class performer capable of 100mph (160km/h).

It is also likely to be a razor-sharp track-ready weapon, with Bentley suggesting it will be “raring to perform”.

While the last Supersports, released in 2018, featured a stonking 7.0-litre turbocharged W12 engine producing 522kW/1017Nm, the new model is rumoured to use the same boosted V8 as its GT stablemates, albeit without the additional nudge of a hybrid system.

According to Autocar in the UK, the model will feature the twin-turbocharged V8 engine tuned to produce “more than 640bhp (447kW)”, meaning it is likely to offer less peak power than its GT Speed sibling which produces 575kW/1000Nm.

This is due to the fact that, according to the Autocar report, it is likely to do away with the 140kW electric motor in favour of a pure-ICE powertrain, with the publication also suggesting it will be rear-wheel drive compared to the GT Speed which sends power to all four corners.

This is an unsurprising move, if true, due to Bentley’s recent backpedalling on its plan to ‘go electric’, with Autocar reporting last month that the marque is preparing to launch pure-petrol successors to the Bentayga, Continental GT and Flying Spur nameplates.

Autocar also claims its sources have outlined a plan to put the Continental on a diet, with the Supersports set to weigh as little as 2000kg (down on the GT Speed’s 2459kg), doing away with unnecessary weight like battery, electric motor and front differential.

If the last Supersports was anything to go by, the incoming model is also likely to feature lashings of carbon fibre, to further reduce kerb weight and likely firm up the aerodynamic potential of the big Bentley.

Rumoured to be priced from a not insignificant £400,000 (AU$814,960) when it launches later this year, a significant price bump over the GT Speed ($AU581,900), it’ll be one of the most expensive grand tourers money can buy.