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Pikes Peak fastest production car ever is ...
a Bentley?

Climb-racing veteran Rhys Millen drove the Bentley Continental GT to victory in the Production Car category at Pikes Peak 2019.

 

 

Bentley Motors, well-known for cars that ooze upper-crust sophistication, just keeps surprising us. Last year, the British automaker made history when its Bentayga model was the fastest production SUV at the The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, the ultra-challenging uphill course in Colorado. This year, Bentley set a new record on June 30 with their Continental GT, which was the fastest production car ever up the mountain.

Held in a Rocky Mountains area just 16 miles west of Colorado Springs, the race is a climb of 4,720 ft from the start at Mile 7 on Pikes Peak Highway to the finish at 14,110 ft on grades averaging 7.2 percent. It is 12.42 miles, 156 corners, and just one attempt. 2019 was the 97th running of the event.

The new Continental GT, a grand tourer automatic equipped with a highly capable and dynamic 6.0-liter 12-cylinder engine, underwent extensive testing to prepare for the event and was put in the experienced hands of Pikes Peak veteran driver Rhys Millen.

The W12 TSI engine is the most advanced 12-cylinder engine in the world. The unique "W" configuration means that the engine is 24 percent shorter than an equivalent V-12, which benefits the weight distribution and maximizes usable cabin space. On the "flats," the engine delivers 626 bhp and sprints from a standstill to 62 mph (0-100 km/h) in just 3.7 sec. Top speed is 207 mph.

The Bentley Continental GT in its everyday "street look."

 

 

The Continental GT made it up the mountain in 10:18.488 (10 mins 18.5 sec), taking 8.4 sec off the previous overall production car record and averaging a super-impressive 70 mph. The time was 14th overall for the event.

If you watch the video below, you will probably notice the smooth acceleration and incredibly quick gearshifts of the dual-clutch eight-speed transmission. In everyday driving conditions, maximum speed is reached in seventh gear, with eighth gear acting as an overdrive gear for relaxed cruising.

The time also bested the 2018 Bentley SUV run by just over 30 sec. For Millen the driver, the ride in the GT was probably smoother than for most any other competitor, because the GT sports Bentley Dynamic Ride, an advanced 48-V roll-control system that controls and adjusts the electronic actuators on the anti-roll bar of each axle, improving handling and ride comfort as well as making the car feel lighter and more precise. Many competitors noted the race course was particularly bumpy this year.

"This is an amazing finish to a wet, snowy 2019 run at Pikes Peak!" said Millen after his record run. "We came here with one goal in mind, and that was to be the fastest production car up the mountain and set a new record. It was an incredible week. Today was a challenge with what Mother Nature threw at us, but the Continental GT held strong all the way to the top, and we are now Number One."

July 2019 marks Bentley's 100th year (did you notice the GT sported the #100?), so the new GT milestone marks a great way to celebrate a century of automotive excellence.

VIDEO: Onboard footage shows driver Rhys Millen pushing the Bentley Continental GT to the limit at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb 2019.

An interesting side note for design engineers: The Continental GT is the first production car ever to have an entire body side made from the Super Formed process -- a precision technique working with aluminum heated to 500° C that has only been used previously on Bentley fenders. This technique "allows designers to invoke more complex, sharply defined body lines and a deeper, sculpted haunch muscle," according to Bentley Motors.

The Bentley Continental GT has a starting price around $220,000.

The overall fastest car at the 2019 Pikes Peak hill climb was #49, a 2018 four-cylinder Wolf TSC-Honda driven by Robin Shute. The time was 09:12.476. You can read more about that car and its interesting team in Autocar UK here.

Overall, the event was plagued by bad weather, and the death of Ducati motorcycle rider Carlin Dunne, who suffered a fatal crash on turn 156 -- about 20 yards from the finish -- added extra sadness to the already gloomy and challenging conditions.

The all-time record for fastest time up the mountain was posted in 2018 by the all-electric Volkswagen I.D. R with a time of 7:57.148. You can read about it in Designfax here.

Sources: Bentley Motors, Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

Published July 2019

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