MOTOR

d motorofficial f motor_mag^99

P

icture a Bentley sandwiched by

a McLaren and Aston Martin,

charging down the Nürburgring

Grand Prix circuit’s main

straight. Behind them a Ferrari lurks.

Their carbon fibre bodywork

is barraged by rain. They are

huddled in changing formation.

Brakes five hours hot. The

Bentley’s V8 booms with bass

while the Ferrari’s shrieks like

a violin in an orchestra of noise.

All are focused on the next apex.

This was last year’s Blancpain

Endurance Series final. For the new

kids in the Endurance series, Bentley,

the race didn’t end as it had hoped.

Six other GT3 cars streaked across the

finish line before the broad proportions

of a Continental thundered past. With

that came smiles for the Bentley garage

• Crewe had won silver in the pro
  championship – but faint disappointment
  lingered as the champagne bubbled.
  Seven hours prior, Bentley was
  on the cusp of making history. A
  top-two finish, and bad luck for the
  top-placed Audis, would have sealed
  Europe’s premiere international GT3
  championship in its debut season. But
  while this would have been the ultimate

way to end a year’s hard work for

Bentley, win or lose, the Continental’s

successful season had reinforced

a more important point about

the GT3 category itself – it’s

exciting, varied, and fair.

Your showroom Bentley

Continental GT V8 weighs

2295kg, with self-levelling air

suspension, an interior stuffed

with thick, fluffy carpet and

perfectly stitched leather, and it

uses a front-mounted turbocharged

engine to waft around.

Compare that with a road-going

McLaren 12C that boasts a carbon fibre

tub and hydraulically-linked dampers

and weighs only 1428kg. It, too, uses a

turbocharged V8 engine, but it’s more

powerful than the Bentley’s and mounted

in the middle.

While their differences sound like

the precise reason for a luxury car

manufacturer to avoid a category of

motorsport swamped with supercars,

last July Bentley wasn’t scared of any

McLarens at the Blancpain Endurance

Series race at French circuit Paul Ricard.

There was an hour to go. Bentley

flashed into the race lead, passing

the ART Grand Prix McLaren

12C GT3 that had just completed

an impeccable stop on the other

side of pit wall. Once released

the McLaren latched onto the

Bentley’s tail in second place.

The chase continued until the

finish line, where the McLaren

trailed by 1.1sec.

How exactly did Bentley give a 2300kg

luxury car the ability to stave off a

McLaren for an hour? It began with a

witch-hunt for kilograms, Brian Gush,

Bentley’s Director of Motorsport, tells

MOTOR at the ’Ring. “Perceptions were

we would never get the weight down, but

we knew we would,” he says.

“[There were] 52 ECUs in the car; to

take all those out were quite heavy. And

the door; the road car door weighs 57

kilograms and the race car door weighs

under seven.” The dramatic weight loss

is thanks, mostly, to carbon fibre being

used for the doors, body panels, front

splitter and rear diffuser.

Kilograms were also shed from the

Continental’s chassis. The GT3

car may use the road car’s steel

monocoque, but with a roll-cage

stiffening its core the rear floor

was cut to free up more weight.

Bentley also saved another

23kg by opting for the Audi-

sourced twin-turbo V8 engine

instead of the brand’s iconic

twin-turbo W12.

All up Bentley sliced 995kg

off the road car. “We aimed for

1300kg and we achieved 1300kg,”

explains Gush. But the job wasn’t

done. Distributing the meat left on the

Continental’s bones was equally as

important for finding speed.

This was where the FIA’s loose GT3

technical rulebook came in handy.

“The GT3 regulations [allowed] us to

move components together for better

weight distribution, because as a front-

engine, front-transmission car you are

SLS

AMG GT3

Active years:

2011-present

Biggest 2014 win:

Zandvoort

12 Hour

Engine:

Front-mount,

6.2-litre V8

Power: 372kW

Weight: 1310kg

Chassis: Aluminium

Cost: €334,000

(2010)

12C GT3

Active years:

2012-2014

Biggest 2014 win:

Monza Pro

Engine: 3.8-litre

V8, twin-turbo

Power: 368kW

Weight: 1245kg

Chassis: Carbon

Cost: ¤310,000

(2011)

HOW DID BENTLEY GIVE A 2300KG CAR THE

ABILITY TO STAVE OFF A MCLAREN?

MERCEDES

MCLAREN

Clever rules allow
Bentley’s enormous
Continental to
compete on a level
playing field with
purpose-built sports
cars (main); GT3 fans
come in all shapes and
sizes (below)