Bentley Continental GT Speed hits Vmax in Australia
Crewe's cruise missile tops 331km/h in the Northern Territory with Aussie legend at the wheelBentley has taken to the Northern Territory's Stuart Highway derestriction zone to conduct a top speed run for its MY16 Continental GT Speed grand tourer.
With multiple Bathurst winner John Bowe behind the wheel, the bright white coupe nudged 331km/h, or 92 metres per second. The 467kW/820Nm W12-powered behemoth reached its top speed in only 76 seconds, a speed verified by Australian company Motec via GPS speedometer.
"This isn't a modified racecar; it's a luxurious grand touring road car fresh off the production line," said John Bowe, who currently races a Continental GT3 in Australia for Flying B Racing.
"It took us a little over a minute to go from a standstill to 206mph [331km/h]. That's extraordinary. Even when you break through the 200mph [320km/h] barrier, the GT Speed just keeps accelerating."
At over 330km/h, the GT Speed was circulating some 216 litres of coolant per minute, pulling 4700 litres of air through the radiator per second, and using 80 per cent of its prodigious power simply to overcome aero loads.
The top speed run was made on the derestricted stretch of the Stuart, which covers 200km between Alice Springs and Barrow Creek. A section of the highway was closed by the NT Government to facilitate the attempt.
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