Bentley Continental GT3 breaks cover

Bentley’s new Continental GT3 racer has broken cover at the Goodwood Festival of Speed as the famous marque prepares to make its return to competitive race action.

A specialist team of engineers at Bentley’s Crewe factory has worked alongside technical partner M-Sport – the company behind Ford’s World Rally Championship programme – to create the new car, which will shortly start a development test programme.

Once FIA homologation has been confirmed, the Continental GT3 will then take part in selected development races ahead of a full season in the Blancpain Endurance Series in 2014.

Guy Smith, winner of Le Mans with Bentley back in 2003, will drive the car up the hill at Goodwood this weekend, giving race fans the first chance to see the car in action.

“The Continental GT3 exploits the incredible performance beneath the skin of every Continental GT,” Member of the Board for Engineering Rolf Frech said. “We’ve removed over 1000 kilograms of weight, reconfigured our 4.0-litre V8 to produce 600bhp in race specification, and developed a comprehensive aerodynamic package to ensure that we perform competitively. We are now looking forward to getting the car on the track and proving its potential.”

Alongside the loss in weight – which takes it under the target of 1,300kg – and the race prepared engine, the Continental GT3 features a carbon fibre propshaft and an Xtrac six-speed sequential gearbox with a limited slip differential, mounted as a transaxle for optimised weight distribution.

A double wishbone suspension configuration front and rear, fitted with four-way adjustable racing dampers, replaces the standard road-car air springs, while the steering system features hydraulic power-assistance and braking comes via ventilated iron discs combined with six-piston calipers on the front and four-piston calipers on the rear.

The exterior of the car features a comprehensive aerodynamic package with a carbon fibre splitter and rear wing, while revisions have been made to the bonnet, bumpers, fenders and sills in order to optimise the car’s drag coefficient and to assist with engine cooling.

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