Bentley have today announced the new Bentley Continental Supersports with the tagline “the world’s fastest four-seat car…” Whilst that claim seems unlikely, the Continental Supersports is certainly the most powerful and aggressive Bentley to date with peak power figures of 700 hp. The Supersports will be offered as a Converible as well as a coupe.

You will instantly be able to tell the Continental Supersports apart from the rest of the range. The exterior changes include a new front and rear bumper design with a carbon diffuser and splitter. Side sill extensions are all new with carbon fibre bonnet vents, a gloss black front wing vent and a gloss black exhaust tip. Dark tint headlights and taillights complement the black brightware elsewhere on the car.

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The Supersports is available with an optional rear spoiler and front splitter. Decals can be ordered for the side and a carbon fibre engine cover is also on offer. The Supersports Convertible gets a multilayer hood tested in conditions ranging between -30 degrees centigrade to greater than 50 degrees centigrade.

The Bentley Continental Supersports is based around the W12 version of the Continental. It therefore features the familiar 6.0 litre twin-turbocharged W12 power unit. The turbochargers have been redesigned together with the charge-air cooling system and the cranktrain (with new main and conrod bearings). The result is higher boost and more power.

The upgrades account for a substantial increase of 65 hp over the current generation GT Speed and 79 hp over the previous generation Supersports model. Torque is now 1,017 Nm, almost 200 Nm more than the GT Speed. Top speed increases by 5 mph to 209 mph (336 km/h) while the Supersports manages a staggering 0-100 km/h sprint in 3.5 seconds.

To manage the increase in torque, Bentley fit a new torque converter and a set of carbon ceramic brake discs, the largest of their type in the work. New 21 inch alloy wheels offer a 20 kg weight saving and a further 5 kg can be shed through an optional titanium exhaust system. Bentley state that the Supersport is the lightest iteration of the current Continental GT, lighter even that the 2009 Supersports model.

Handling characteristics are addressed through using the Continental GT3-R torque vectoring system. The rear biased torque split remains though, with 60 percent of the power heading to the rear wheels with the ability to adjust this depending upon the traction.

Inside, the Continental Supersports is available with a unique colour split. It uses three colours. A new diamond-quilted alcantara design is incorporated in the seats and door side panels and a chequered Supersports carbon-fibre fascia panel is available alongside the existing list of ten veneers. As you would expect, owners are able to bespoke their vehicles through Bentley’s Mulliner program. A special “X Specification” pack is also available with eight unique duo tone paints and carbon fibre products.

No word on availability or pricing yet, but do check back for more!