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This car may presage a return to Le Mans, and you can buy one—probably.
Assuming you have the money, you can write a check for a car that makes as much power as a Formula 1 car — 700 hp or more — and legally drive it to the grocery store. In such a world, where does that leave production-based racing? Your typical entrant in the FIA’s GT3 class is producing somewhere between 500 and 600 hp. The latest iteration of the Bentley Continental GT Speed makes 616 hp. And that raises a few eyebrows because Bentley has just launched the Continental GT3 Concept—the race car based on the GT Speed that the Crewe-based factory would like to enter into GT3 competition.
The Conti GT3 Concept is being developed at Bentley HQ by a small, dedicated team led by Brian Gush. Gush was the man in charge when Bentley won 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2003 with the Speed 8 in the prototype class. If the green light is given, this will be Bentley’s first foray into endurance racing since that victory.
According to Bentley, the concept is pretty close to what we’ll likely see if the Conti racer hits the track in late 2013. The design is 95 percent finalized and has been approved by the FIA. What’s not yet finalized is what will power the Conti GT3. Right now, the car is powered by the brand’s 6.0-liter W-12, but Bentley tells us that could change to a V-8 in the coming months. Bentley’s also tight-lipped about output numbers, but expect to see a figure somewhat less than the GT Speed’s 616 hp. What the GT3 also will have less of than the Speed is weight: The Speed tips the scales at what Bentley claims is a hefty 5115 pounds. Most of the cars contesting the GT3 series weigh between 2700 and 3000 pounds. We can’t wait to find out how Bentley plans to cut up to a ton of mass.
Bentley’s tentative plan is to enter as a factory team in a few FIA-sanctioned GT3 races near the end of the 2013 season, with a full schedule being adopted the following year. The Bentley boys will use the Conti GT3 Concept’s launch in Paris to gauge the interest of private teams in purchasing the car for the 2014 season. There’s also a plan under consideration to produce a limited run of these track-only Continentals for public consumption.
Regardless of what the final few pieces of the Continental GT3 Concept’s puzzle end up being, Bentley’s return to endurance racing would be a welcome one. And in a world where F1 levels of power are just a (admittedly hefty) down payment away, buying a full-on Le Mans racer for personal use is another level of exotic.
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