Bentley Continental SuperSports at Goodwood with Juha Kankunnen behind the wheel

Juha Kankunnen, the four-time world rally champion, turned up the heat at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed when he was reunited with his world ice-speed record breaking Bentley Continental Supersports convertible.

The muscular 6.0 litre, 12-cylinder Bentley with its distinctive black and bright red livery proved to be one of the real head-turners in Goodwood’s famous Supercar Paddock.

Earlier this year, Kankunnen and the all-wheel drive Continental Supersports convertible set a new world best of 205.48mph (330.695km/h) on a 16.5km long ice track on a 70cm-thick layer of Baltic Sea ice, off the coast of Finland.

Goodwood’s famous Hill Climb and three days of hot, summer sunshine did not present Kankunnen with the extreme challenge he faced on the ice track. That did not stop him however from delivering for the large Festival crowds a series of typically blistering runs with the 640PS (631bhp) Supersports, the world’s fastest production convertible road car,

Kankunnen was joined in the Bentley ‘corner’ of the Supercar Paddock by five-time Le Mans winner, Derek Bell and the new Bentley Continental GT.

Bell, who has worked with Bentley for over a decade as a professional driving consultant for the company’s road car programme as well as helping to guide the Company’s victorious Le Mans campaign in 2003, was also formidably quick up the hill.

Photo Credit: © Bentley

Bentley Continental GT Review

The Bentley Continental GT is set to have a choice of two very distinctive high-performance engines. In addition to the new 575PS version of Crewe’s renowned 6.0 litre W12 powertrain, a new high-output 4.0-litre V8 engine option will be introduced in late 2011.

The new 4.0-litre V8 engine honours Bentley’s environmental commitment to deliver a powertrain that achieves a 40 percent improvement in CO2 emissions. The new V8 is being designed specifically by Bentley’s engineers to deliver all the exhilarating power and torque synonymous with the marque. The new Crewe-built engine will also offer a class-leading CO2 emissions-to-power ratio.

At launch, the new Bentley Continental GT coupe is powered by the latest evolution of Bentley’s acclaimed 12-cylinder, 6-litre twin-turbocharged engine, now calibrated to provide even greater performance, thanks to increases in power, torque and fuel efficiency.

The shape of the new Bentley Continental GT coupe’s body is also more aerodynamic following extensive wind tunnel analysis. In conjunction with a range of extensive underbody refinements (including wheel arch and exhaust aerodynamic aids) the GT’s coefficient of drag has been reduced to 0.33Cd and the lift at the front and rear axles has also been reduced to create greater stability at higher speeds.

The new Bentley Continental GT is specified with 20-inch alloy wheels as standard, with, for the first time on the Continental family, the option to upgrade to 21-inch designs. Three styles of wheel are offered – a 20-inch five-spoke version and two 21-inch Elegant and split-rim Sports variations, which come in a variety of chromed and painted finishes.

Photo Credit: © Bentley