Bentley Continental GT Supersports goes combustion-only and rear-wheel drive

There is no other way to put it: Bentley has lost its mind - and that is a very good thing. At a time when the market is heading towards an electrified future, the Crewe marque is swimming against the tide with the new Continental GT Supersports, which is combustion-only.

Bentley Continental GT Supersports: V8-only power and rear-wheel drive

Under the bonnet sits the familiar 4.0 V8 biturbo found in other plug-in hybrid Continental GT models, but here the electrical side is gone and the whole unit has been comprehensively reworked - with a tougher block, reinforced cylinder heads and larger turbos.

The outcome is as outrageous as it sounds: 666 cv and 800 Nm of torque, sent solely to the rear wheels through a ZF eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. That gearbox has also been re-engineered, gaining new clutches and software that deliver quicker shifts and more aggressive downchanges.

You read that correctly… As well as ditching the hybrid hardware, the Bentley Continental GT Supersports has also done away with drive to the front axle, leaving the rear wheels as the only point of contact responsible for putting all of that twin-turbo V8 muscle onto the tarmac.

Weight saving and cabin changes

Removing all-wheel drive and the electric assistance helped cut mass, but Bentley did not stop there. The usual aluminium roof has been replaced by a carbon-fibre panel and the cabin has been pared back: the rear seats have been removed, some sound insulation has gone, a number of speakers have been deleted, and several driver-assistance systems have been taken out. The seats are now lower-set bucket items, and there are fresh carbon-fibre panels throughout.

The result is almost 500 kg less than the Continental GT Speed (2460 kg). Enough, in fact, to bring the Supersports in under two tonnes (54:46 weight distribution).

Backing “more extreme models”

In the past, the Supersports badge signified Bentley’s most powerful offering. But in an era of electrification - and of supercars producing well over 1000 cv - the new Supersports instead becomes what Frank Walliser, the brand’s chief executive, calls “the most driver-focused Bentley”.

Bentley says more cars in the same mould as the Continental GT Supersports are part of the plan. Walliser has confirmed this is the first step in a new push to create “more extreme models” with a stronger emphasis on driving.

That “extremism” is clear in the decisions made, from abandoning all-wheel drive to introducing components never before seen in the range. Consider the splitter - the largest ever fitted to a Bentley - a completely reworked front end, and the highest aerodynamic load the brand has achieved on a production model: more than 300 kg of additional downforce compared with the GT Speed.

For even more committed driving, this coupé can be specified with optional Pirelli P Zero Trofeo RS tyres, delivering up to 1.3 G of lateral force and around 30% more cornering speed than the GT Speed.

Limited to 500 units

Due to reach the market next year, the new Bentley Continental GT Supersports also marks the 100th anniversary of the first Bentley to carry this name: the 3 Litre Super Sports.

Production, limited to 500 units, begins in September next year, with orders opening a few months earlier in March. Price? It is expected to comfortably exceed 400 thousand euros. Bentley anticipates the USA - its most important market - will receive the largest number of cars.