Bentley smashes production car record at Pikes Peak with new Continental GT
Rhys Millen sliced about 8 seconds off the last record.
Last year was a wild year for the Volkswagen Group at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. In addition to the VW ID R capturing the overall record, a nearly stock Bentley Bentayga picked up the production SUV record by almost two minutes. This year, while there was no ID R, there was another Bentley , and it, too, picked up an impressive record.
Bentley announced on Monday that its new Continental GT earned the production car record at the 2019 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. With three-time Pikes Peak champion Rhys Millen behind the wheel, the W12-powered Conti made it up the 12.42-mile strip of asphalt with a time of 10:18.488, besting the previous record-setter by 8.4 seconds, which is quite the feat.
The pace at which the Continental GT moved was well beyond that of the Bentayga. While Bentley's SUV averaged 66.5 miles per hour through all 156 turns, the Continental GT's average was 70 mph, clearing the finish line some 30 seconds ahead of where the Bentayga finished in 2018.
While Bentley didn't lay out all the modifications to the Continental GT, most of the car's upgrades were likely safety-based. When the Bentayga made its trip up the mountain, it rocked a roll cage, a sportier exhaust system, a racing seat, a fire suppression system and a little bit of weight removal. Odds are, the Continental GT's prep was along those same lines.
When the Bentayga captured the production SUV record, the automaker released a limited-edition version of the vehicle, which wore the same bright green livery as the model that earned the record, in addition to sporting a few Pikes Peak logos and numbered doorsill plates. It's unclear if Bentley will do the same with the Continental GT, but there's probably room in the production queue for something like that.
