Bentley promised to introduce the “most extreme” car it has ever developed, and true to form, the British luxury marque (or is it a performance brand now?) delivered in spades with the debut of the Continental Supersports, a 700-horsepower piece of viciousness that combines everything we love about the Continental line into one stunning coupe.
The sheer look of the Continental Supersports validates the exotic label being thrown around to describe it. Not only does it looks like a proper performance car (dare I say, maybe even a supercar?) but it does so by taking the already aggressive styling of the slightly less potent Continental GT3-R and cranks it up to another level. Take a look at those redesigned bumpers and the more discernible body lines that give it that racy look to it. And that fixed rear wing at the back? My oh my, this beauty is a sight to behold.
As aggressive as the Supersports looks, it’s real calling card lies underneath that hood, where a 6.0-liter W12 engine with higher-capacity turbochargers resides. That tweaked engine is good for 700 horsepower and 750 pound-feet of torque, making it the first Bentley ever to carry a factory output of at least 700 horses. That’s no small feat for a company that made its name in the world of automotive luxury.
Speaking of which, the Continental Supersports isn’t all just about power and speed, although we certainly don’t mind having those two departments being the talk of the car. True to its roots, the most extreme Continental is also a picture of luxury, thanks to an interior that’s been designed and dressed to the nines.
We’re going to have a more comprehensive review of the Bentley Continental Supersports up soon so don’t sweat on the broad strokes look of the car we have for now. In the meantime, take a look at this gorgeous piece of work and appreciate Bentley for giving the second-generation Continental the swan song it deserves.
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2017 is a going to be a big year for performance cars
Since we’re going to be making a deep dive into the Bentley Continental Supersports, let me take this opportunity to point out the excitement of beginning 2017 with a bang as far as performance cars are concerned. You might even extend it to the latter part of 2016 when Lamborghini unveiled the Aventador S at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show. But since the calendar flipped to 2017, it didn’t take long for the Continental Supersports to arrive.
The Bentley Continental Supersports will be remembered as the performance car that got the supercar ball rolling in 2017.
Apart from having the “most extreme” Bentley of all time, we’re also going to see the second-generation McLaren Super Series soon enough. Same thing with Ferrari, which has been rolling out a handful of special edition models recently. Remember too that Maranello is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year and has promised more celebration models to come throughout the year. Pagani is also expected to unveil the Huayra Roadster in Geneva and we haven’t even talked about the likes of Bugatti and Koenigsegg, two exotic brands that are due to reveal variants of their own exotic cars this year.
And while we’re at it, don’t forget about the trio of new hypercars that are going to be in the headlines this year. There’s Aston Martin’s AM-RB 001, as well as the Mercedes-AMG hypercar and the new McLaren hypercar. Of the three, the AM-RB 001 is the likely choice to make its debut this year, but we can also at least expect to hear more details about both the Mercedes-AMG and McLaren exotics in the course of the year.
In the end though, the Bentley Continental Supersports will be remembered as the performance car that got the supercar ball rolling in 2017. Exciting times, indeed.