2019 Bentley Continental GT units Pikes Peak manufacturing automobile document
Bentley’s Continental GT is famend for its luxurious, however the car can also be a extremely succesful efficiency machine, particularly in 12-cylinder guise.
Bentley used the 2019 Pikes Peak Worldwide Hill Climb on Sunday to focus on this truth, with the automaker calling on Pikes Peak veteran Rhys Millen to race to the clouds within the newest Continental GT.
The luxurious coupe, which wore a particular livery highlighting Bentley’s centennial this yr, was pushed by Millen to a brand new document for manufacturing automobiles. He managed a time of 10:18.Four, or a bit greater than eight seconds off the earlier document of 10:26.eight set in 2015 by David Donner in a Porsche 911 Turbo S.
Millen additionally entered final yr’s run in a Bentley Bentayga and claimed a document for manufacturing SUVs together with his time of 10:49.9, taking almost two minutes off the earlier document. Bentley celebrated by launching a particular model of the Bentayga. Little question there will probably be a particular Continental GT within the works, now that the automobile has claimed the document.
Rhys Millen at 2019 Pikes Peak Worldwide Hill Climb
The automobile that Millen drove was powered by a 6.Zero-liter twin-turbocharged W-12 delivering 626 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque. That is sufficient for Zero-60 mph acceleration in three.6 seconds and a high pace of 207 mph, although the latter did not assist a lot given Pikes Peak’s winding 156-corner, 12.42-mile course. Millen’s common pace, in any case, was 70 mph.
What did come in useful had been the automobile’s turbochargers. With the beginning line as excessive as 9,300 ft and rising to 14,100 ft on the summit, you are air that is round a 3rd of the density as at sea degree. Turbochargers assist alleviate the problem by compressing the air earlier than it is fed to the engine. The expertise was initially popularized for plane flying at excessive altitudes.
After Sunday’s Pikes Peak run, the general document, for automobiles of any class, stays unchallenged. The time is the 7:57.1 set by Romain Dumas final yr within the ID R electrical time-attack particular.
Sadly, there was additionally tradgedy at this yr’s run. Carlin Dunne, a Four-time Pikes Peak winner, was killed whereas driving a Ducati Streetfighter V4 motorbike. The 36-year-old seemed set to write down a brand new 2-wheel document however crashed lower than 1 / 4 of a mile from the end line.
