This Continental GT3 Bentley is sending to Pikes Peak with the goal of adding one last record to its books for the triple crown. The specially modified Continental GT3 Pikes Peak, which is described as the “most extreme road-car-based Bentley ever”, is also going to be the brand’s first racing car to run on renewable fuel, more specifically on biofuel-based gasoline. Bentley is currently testing various blends of fuels, with possible greenhouse gas reductions of up to 85 percent over the standard fossil fuel.
This marks the start of Bentley’s program
to investigate both biofuels and e-fuels for their potential to power models of
both the past and present in a sustainable way. As for the Continental GT3
Pikes Peak, the race car features a much more extreme aerodynamics package and
modifications to its engine in order to suit the special environment, and high
altitude, of the Pikes Peak hill climb route.
Aerodynamic modifications include the
biggest rear wing ever fitted to a Bentley, a new rear diffuser that surrounds
the transaxle gearbox, and a huge two-plane front splitter flanked by separate
dive planes. Under the bonnet, you’ll find the same racing unit as the regular
GT3 race car, developed from the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 of the road-going
model. The engine has also been modified, and together with the use of biofuel,
it’s expected to produce more power in addition to a dramatic soundtrack thanks
to its short side-exit exhaust pipes.
Other modifications include new cooling
air scoops in place of the rear windows, and the obligatory stopwatch mounted
on the roll cage next to the steering wheel. Bentley’s racer will be driven by
none other than Rhys Millen, who has captured the carmaker’s two existing Pikes
Peak records – the production SUV record in 2018 with the Bentayga, and the
outright production car record with a Continental GT W12 in 2019.
