Luxury gets a conscience

Judith Edwards • Published 29 Apr 2010 13:40

A long time flag waver for all that is luxurious and decadent, as a maker of powerful cars Bentley is starting to show its more responsible side. No, this doesn't mean you'll be able to pick up something to rival Toyota's Prius, but it does mean that the Crewe firm's products can now run on E85.

Sadly E85 is not some mythical fuel that never runs out, but it is a clever mix of 85% ethanol and petrol - hence the name. It's a little more potent than your average petrol and can be made with renewable raw materials, which lends it some added credibility in these more economic and environmentally austere times.

And Bentley has launched this new approach to motoring in the only way it knows how: with a bang - a 621 horsepower bang. Never a company to do things by halves, to kick start the programme of getting all its new cars running on E85, the company has created a special version of its popular Continental GT model.

Not content with extracting 552bhp from the car's charismatic six-litre, 12-cylinder engine, or indeed the 600 horsepower from the recently launched Speed variant, there's now a 621bhp Supersports to covet.

As we've come to expect from Bentley, this power hike is only part of the story. Always keen to stress that its products are most definitely all their own work, the Supersport is a finely distilled Continental GT.

The Supersports is rated at 388g/km CO2, with the regular Speed topping out at 396g/km. Then there are the economy savings to be made, with the Supersports again trumping the Speed, although the 0.3mpg difference (17.3mpg plays 17.0mpg respectively) is hardly going to be a deal-breaker. Still, E85 is a few pence cheaper at the pumps. Even if you can't always get hold of the stuff, Bentley has re-engineered the car's engine to run on all popular grades of fuel so you'll never be stuck.

Designed to deliver an intoxicating mix of Bentley's trademark luxury and refinement plus a larger than usual dollop of smile-inducing performance, big numbers dominate the Supersports discussion.

Along with its 621bhp, the big twin-turbo V12 motor generates a tree-pulling 590lb/ft of torque, which explains the simply breathtaking zero to 62mph sprint time of 3.9 seconds. That might be a small number but the car's 2,240kg kerb weight isn't. And assuming you're somewhere safe and it's legal, the car will top out at 204mph.

Even before climbing aboard you'll notice that the car is a fraction lower and wider than a regular Continental GT, and the car's brakes are high performance carbon ceramic items. Once inside you'll hopefully have clocked the lack of rear seats. This omission plus the ceramic brakes and various subtle suspension tweaks, lightweight alloy wheels and race-style bucket seats have resulted in a car that's 110kg lighter than the Speed.

Thumb the familiar starter button and you'll hear the most obvious clue that this Bentley is a bit special: the noise. It's not wake-your-neighbours loud but it is a deep, purposeful bass accompaniment.

When driven at sensible speeds the Supersports is the proverbial pussycat. And once unhindered by congested city streets, the car flies. And it does so without appearing to break into a sweat. This is high performance motoring at its finest; you might be sitting in a bucket seat but it's a leather-trimmed and supremely luxurious one.

Built with Bentley's usual loving care and littered with tasteful details inside and out, the Supersports takes the Continental GT family to new performance heights.

An intimate experience for two, the car is a consummate all-rounder for anyone who enjoys driving and living life to the full.

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This article appeared in Royal Borough Observer 15 Apr 10

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