Each year competitors from around the world gather in Colorado to take on the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. At this year’s running of the historic race, Bentley will be fielding a very cool Continental GT3 Pikes Peak racing car. Bentley has revealed some of the details on that car ahead of the event.
The Continental GT3 Pikes Peak uses a race engine that is completing the prove-out phase using renewable fuels. The engine produces over 750 horsepower and 1000 Nm of torque from a revised 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8. Bentley gave the engine new connecting rods and pistons and larger turbos to push 2.2 bar the boost down the engine’s carbon fiber intake manifold.
The car also has lots of aerodynamic enhancements meant to help the car stick to the mountain at high speeds. Bentley says it makes 30 percent more downforce than the standard Continental GT3. Another interesting touch to the car are water-cooled brakes.
The Pikes Peak racetrack is extremely challenging for brakes as the course involves high speeds with hairpin corners. Missing one of the turns could send a racecar plummeting hundreds of feet off the side of the mountain. Bentley is targeting a Time Attack I record to go along with this Production SUV and Production Car records it set in 2018 and 2019.
Bentley says if it wins the Time Attack I record, it will have a “Triple Crown” of Pikes Peak records. The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb happens on June 27, 2021. Bentley’s car will run on a renewable racing fuel called 98RON that reduces greenhouse gas production by up to 85 percent. Bentley also added a secondary cooling system in the rear of the car with scoops to replace the rear windows to channel air through the radiator to keep the powerful engine cool.
