Bentley Continental GT3 Development Details Emerge

By Ganesh

Bentley last took part in a racing event about 10 years back in 2003, when it participated at 24 Hours of Le Mans and managed to win it. The luxury auto brand is set to make a comeback, this time with the Continental GT, which is being turned into the GT3 racer by Bentley engineers. 3. The Volkswagen owned British luxury carmaker has now released new details regarding the car's development.

Bentley Continental GT3 Concept Racer was first revealed during last year's Paris Auto Show. Since then a dedicated team of engineers, assisted by Bentley's GT3 technical partner, M-Sport Ltd1 have been slowly turning the Continental into a race ready machine. So, what does it take to turn a heavy weight into a nimble, track hugging racer? Lots of power and weight shedding.

Hence, the Bentley Continental on diet is powered by 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine, power from which will be controlled via a six speed sequential gearbox. Also necessary are racing equipments such as double wishbone suspensions, four-way adjustable dampers and competition brakes, all of which are now part of the racer.

Coming to the weight saving part. The team has slashed more than 1000 kg. It is not just about throwing away all the heavy stuff that makes the road going Continental a luxurious GT car. Sample this for example. The doors from the original Continental have been replaced by racing versions, which weigh only 12 percent of the originals.

Something the racer shares with its road going counterpart is how it is constructed. Several parts of the racer are still handmade, just like the GT car. This includes the racing seats and door pulls. Only the outer shell of the road going car features in the racer. The rest, including the doors, boot lid and bonnet are now hand-crafted in carbon fibre.

English
Article Published On: Friday, June 14, 2013, 18:02 [IST]
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