Bentley flips the bird with rapid new Continental Supersports

British luxury car maker releases the world’s fastest four-seat luxury car.

Seemingly unmoved by criticisms last year of its high-speed stunt in the Northern Territory, that saw racing driver John Bowe controversially max out its Continental GT Speed at 330km/h, British luxury car maker Bentley has released what it describes as its fastest and most powerful road car ever.

In a one-fingered salute to wowsers everywhere, Bentley’s new Continental Supersports eclipses the top speed set by John Bowe on a closed section of the Stuart Highway, and even betters that of Italian maker Ferrari’s GTC4Lusso, to claim the title of ‘world’s fastest four-seat luxury car’.

Powered by the latest iteration of Bentley’s twin-turbocharged W12 engine, the Supersports punches out a remarkable 522kW and 1017Nm. These epic performance numbers are enough to overcome the car’s hefty kerb weight of 2280kg, rocketing the all-wheel drive coupe from 0-100km/h in just 3.5 seconds, on its way to a top speed of 336km/h.

Changes to the turbochargers and intercooler, along with beefed up engine internals, result in an increase of 55kW and 197NM over the current range-topping Bentley Continental GT Speed.

Other notable performance enhancements specific to the Continental Supersport include a 30kg reduction in kerb weight, fitment of high-performance carbon ceramic brakes, reputedly the largest of their type in the world, the addition of torque vectoring technology, and enhancements to the car’s eight-speed automatic transmission.

The ballistic Brit also gets a range of styling enhancements to emphasise its performance potential, including 21-inch lightweight forged alloys, carbon-fibre accents on the front splitter and rear diffuser, and an optional fixed rear spoiler, also made of carbonfibre.

“Only Bentley could create a car which combines immense performance and unrivalled luxury in this way,” said Bentley Motors chairman and chief executive Wolfgang Dürheimer.

The launch of the new Bentley this week, to international journalists at Portugal’s famed Estoril circuit, comes hard on the heels of the company’s strong showing at the recent Bathurst 12-hour race in Australia, in which the works GT3 of Smith, Kane and Jarvis finished third in a hard-fought battle that featured some of some of the world’s leading luxury sports brands.

The Continental Supersports is expected to be available in Australia later this year, with pricing yet to be confirmed. However, with the range-topping Continental Speed costing $461,300 (plus on-road costs) in coupe form and $507,300 (plus on-road costs) as a convertible, potential buyers shouldn’t expect much change out of $500,000 for the coupe, or $550,000 for the convertible.