BBC_Top_Gear_South_Africa_June_2017

SUPER FACTS
What should I know?
> To produce over 1000Nm the turbos spin
at more than 2500rpm per second with
the turbines reaching peak
temperatures of 1000°C
> At full power the Continental SS inhales
over 500 litres of air per second
> Supersports carbon brakes can
withstand temperatures up to 1000°C
Heavy
hitter
Bentley Continental Supersports
R R4 450 000
Due: July 2017
WE SAY: JUST WHAT THE CONTINENTAL
NEEDED–MOREPOWER,MOREQUILTING
> Each of the 12 000 strands of carbon
fibre in every square of the new
patterned carbon veneer is ten times
thinner than a human hair but 100 times
stronger
> At 336km/h, 3800 litres of air pass
through the Supersports’ radiator every
second – enough to fill a full sized
shipping container in 10 seconds
Big grilles are a Bentley
design signature.
Speed makes it functional.
You really feel sorry for
the strain these things
must take
upersports is an emotive badge for
Bentley, and this is the first time
it’s graced one of its cars since
S
2009.Backthen,itwaseffectively
the final iteration of the MkI
Continental, and its 463kW, 328km/h top speed
and800NmmadeitthefastestBentleytodate.
The first Supersports, incidentally, dates back to
1925,whenits64kWand160km/hpotentialwere
the stuff of fantasy.
While no one at Bentley would use a phrase as
gauche as “run-out” special, an all-new
Continental is due this autumn, so the return of
the Supersports represents a robust last hurrah for
the company’s imperious coupe. It’s also the new
fastest and most powerful Bentley ever, and will
be limited to 710 units, its power output in PS,
coincidentally.
Visual differences run to gloss-black bonnet
vents, new front and rear bumpers with carbonfibre
splitter and diffuser, a rifled exhaust tailpipe,
and a rear spoiler (though not on the convertible).
Even more arresting is the torque figure – 1017Nm
Supersports has a spoiler.
It will be owned by 710
spoilt (and lucky) owners
from 2,050rpm – while the torque curve
itself isn’t a curve so much as a lofty
plateau high enough to induce nose
bleeds. Compared with its immediate
predecessor, the new Supersports has an
extra 60kW and 217Nm, of torque, which
translates to zero to 100km/h in 3.5secs,
0–160km/h in 7.4, and a top speed of
336km/h. Given that it weighs 2,280kg
(40 less than the GT Speed, whose
suspension set-up it carries over), these
are strong numbers, strong enough to
outgun the likes of the AMG GT S and
Nissan GT-R.
A certain heft is a key part of the
Bentley experience, and travelling that
fast in a car of these dimensions is a
50 JUNE 2017