BENTLEY INTRODUCES THE LIMITED NUMBER LE MANS COLLECTION - AND IT'S AUTOMOTIVE PORN.
Automakers just love anniversaries, and some celebrate these better than others. Bentley won the Le Mans 24-hour race 20 years ago, and the victory was so special that it’s worthy of a special edition, limited number Bentley Continental commemorative model. In typical Bentley fashion, it’s absolutely awesome, easily the best incarnation of these British brutes to date. Over and above the looks, these Bentleys are powered by the monstrous 6.0-litre W12 TSi powerplant seen in a few special VAG models over the years. For the aesthetics, Mulliner’s designers closely studied the Bentley Speed 8 that took the top podium spot in 2003, and as a result, the Le Mans Collection cars are finished in Verdant green, with a Moonbeam racing stripe across the bonnet (and roof of the Coupé version). The Blackline spec is a tip of the hat to the black and green livery of the Speed 8, while the carbon-fibre Styling spec body components are finished in black with a subtle pinstripe in Moonbeam. Beluga black is also used for the lower front bumper, wing mirror caps and rear ‘horseshoe’ area beneath the boot-lid spoiler. Some tasty black 22-inch 10-spoke wheels fill the corners and beyond them are the carbon ceramic brakes with red brake calipers. The distinctive Bentley matrix grille features a painted #7 in Arctica white, the race-winning number from 2003. The interiors of the Le Mans Collection have a cockpit trimmed in Beluga hide, Dynamica fabric covers the seat faces, and seat stitching and seatbelts are in Hotspur. The fascia veneer and door waist rails are in Piano Black and high gloss carbon fibre, with a fine chrome pinstripe separating the two - the doors match. There are also Speed 8 sill plates and 6-wreath treadplates, and the fascia displays the 6-wreath emblem inlaid into the carbon fibre to mark each of the six outright victories by Bentley at Le Mans between 1924 and 2003.
The Bentley Le Mans Collection Continental GT and GTC are fitted with Bentley’s iconic 6.0-litre W12 TSI engine, and in this spec, the setup is tuned to produce 485 kW with an amazing and expected 900 Nm of torque. In action, this gives the Le Mans Bentleys a quick 3.6-second 0-100 km/h dash and a top speed at an impressive 335 km/h. A combo of four chassis technologies give this new limited edition a level of agility, performance and ride quality. Bentley Dynamic Ride and 3-chamber active air suspension with adaptive damping ensure amazing balance and is a formidable foundation to build on. The optional Carbon Ceramic Brakes, Variable Electronic Stability Control, All Wheel Steering, and an Electronic Limited Slip Differential further improve agility and performance.
Bentley’s long association with Le Mans didn’t get off to the smoothest of starts. “I think the whole thing’s crazy. Nobody’ll finish. Cars aren’t designed to take that sort of strain for 24 hours.” Such was W.O. Bentley’s reaction in 1923, on hearing that private entrant John Duff planned to contest the first-ever Le Mans 24-Hour race in a Bentley 3 Litre, but the competitive fire in W.O’s soul saw him make a last-minute dash to the La Sarthe circuit nonetheless. Inspired by Duff’s 4th place (despite a lengthy stop to repair a holed petrol tank) and fastest lap, W.O and Bentley Motors returned in 1924 with a works entry – and won. It was the start of a glorious decade that saw five wins in seven years. Bentley was back again in 2001 with the EXP Speed 8, which was the start of a 3-year programme targeting a sixth outright victory. On Sunday, June 15th, 2003, Bentley’s two works Speed 8s finished in 1st and 2nd place. Car #7 of Guy Smith, Tom Kristensen and Rinaldo Capello covered 377 laps at an average speed of 214.33 km/h, closely followed by the #8 Speed 8 of Johnny Herbert, Mark Blundell and David Brabham.
Take a look at the YouTube video from a few years back that shows off the speed, sound and the amazing rrack dynamics of the car that inspired these amazing limited number special edition cars and gives you an idea of how it was the winning car at the 2003 Le Mans 24-hour race: 2003 Bentley Speed 8 LMP Warm Up, Accelerations & Engine Sound | 19Bozzy92
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