Bentley will be taking their recently released Continental GT Coupe up Pikes Peak to see if they can set a record. They reckon it will complete the run in less than 10 minutes and 26.9 seconds to hold a new record. The date set is 30th June, so check back at the end of the month for the results!
Bentley previously entered their SUV, the Bentayga and set a time of 10 minutes and 49.9 seconds to become the fastest production SUV on that challenging climb.
Just like back then, Bentley will be putting their vehicle in the hands of New Zealander Rhys Millen, who managed to average a speed of 107km/h on that 156-corner, 5000 foot high climb.
The Continental GT coupe in question will also be painted green Radium with sponsor decals and a great big outline of the mountain on its side.
The Bentley Continental GT coupe is powered by a 6-litre W12 engine with 635hp and 900Nm of torque on tap. This engine is coupled to an 8-speed, dual clutch automatic allowing it to complete the century sprint in just 3.7 seconds.
The particular car in question, car number 100, has been extensively tested to deal with changes in altitude and low oxygen situations. Millen’s helmet will fed a constant stream of oxygen to deal with the climb as well.
Pikes Peak International Climb (Adapted from Wikipedia)
The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), also known as The Race to the Clouds, is an annual automobile and motorcycle hillclimb to the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado, USA. The track measures 12.42 miles (19.99 km) and has over 156 turns, climbing 4,720 ft (1,440 m) from the start at Mile 7 on Pikes Peak Highway, to the finish at 14,110 ft (4,300 m), on grades averaging 7.2%. It used to consist of both gravel and paved sections, however as of August 2011, the highway is fully paved and as a result all subsequent events will be run on asphalt from start to finish
The race is self-sanctioned and has taken place since 1916. It is currently contested by a variety of classes of cars, trucks, motorcycles and quads. There are often numerous new classes tried and discarded year-to-year. On average there are 130 competitors. The PPIHC operates as the Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb Educational Museum to organize the annual motorsports event.
