In 2023, Bentley released special editions of the Continental GT to celebrate its victory at Le Mans. The series of 48 cars is called the Le Mans Collection and is dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the successful performance of the Speed 8 sports prototypes in the 2003 marathon. And bloggers from the Carwow channel took both of these cars together in a race in a straight line! And although the winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is lighter, the car was not created for drag racing, and therefore the result of the duel may be unexpected.
The road-going Bentley Continental GT Speed is equipped with a 6.0-liter W12 petrol turbo engine, which works in conjunction with an 8-speed robotic gearbox and all-wheel drive. The engine produces 660 forces and 900 Nm, which correspond to a mass of 2200 kilograms.
The racing sports prototype Bentley Speed 8 weighs less than a ton – only 905 kilograms, which accounts for about 600 horsepower from a 4.0-liter V8 turbo engine. Naturally, the rear-wheel drive winner of the 2003 24 Hours of Le Mans has a noticeable weight advantage, but the car was not created for racing in a straight line, which means the result of the duel may be the most unexpected.
Watercolor and wax: how Bentley cars were created 70 years ago
