Peak Performance
Resident petrol-head James Fossdyke test drives the Cheshire made Bentley Continental GT
Pikes Peak may not mean much to you and me, but hardcore racing enthusiasts know it as one of the most attritional challenges in motorsport. It’s a 12.4-mile climb up a 156-corner mountain road in Colorado, and people have been racing there for 100 years. It’s tough, it’s competitive, and it has a fearsome reputation. Winning there takes power, precision and a massive slug of bravery.
I mention this because last year Bentley celebrated its centenary, and the company from Crewe decided to celebrate by breaking the Pikes Peak record for production cars. The engineers found a spare Continental GT in a corner of the factory and, because the Pikes Peak rules say you’re allowed to do such things, they set about modifying it. The cabin was stripped out, a louder exhaust system was fitted, and stickier tyres were shoehorned onto the wheels.
The modifications worked, and this very car blew the previous record holder out of the water, beating it by eight seconds. That might not sound like much – particularly over 12 miles – but just imagine you were standing by the side of the road when this car passed you at full chat. Eight seconds later, it would be almost a kilometre away.
Anyway, this car is a unicorn; one of a kind. So, I always imagined it would live in a garage of pure bubble-wrap, mollycoddled and treasured by Bentley’s crack team of mechanics and hidden from sight. But no. It’s completely road-legal, and Bentley invited me to drive it.
At this juncture, I should point out I am not a racing driver. I have a racing licence and I’ve done a fair bit of track driving, but Lewis Hamilton need not look over his shoulder. If Jenson Button is to racing what Manchester City is to football, I’m the equivalent of Nantwich Town’s Under-12s.
For reasons unknown, however, the woman from Bentley was perfectly happy to strap me into her priceless vehicle and let me loose on the roads of Britain.
Just getting in required an impressive act of athleticism, thanks to a roll cage that more or less blocks off the door. I clambered in with all the grace and dexterity of a fully grown boa constrictor cramming itself into a test tube. And things didn’t improve much once I was inside, because all the usual accoutrements of a Bentley interior were either ripped out or deliberately broken to make the car faster.
To distract myself from the harness’ vice-like grip on my body, I tried desperately to remember what the Bentley engineer – a reassuringly unflappable man called Keith – had told me. No adjusting the seat, because it doesn’t move. Foot on the brake. Push the red button in the armrest until you hear a clunk, then jab the start button on the dash.
I was prepared for savagery, but nothing like the onslaught that arrived. The 6.0-litre W12 didn’t so much burst into life as erupt into unbridled fury. One minute it lay idle and silent, the next it was assaulting every sense with an arsenal of vicious sounds, vibrations and smells. It was a stark reminder that modern cars are very good at isolating you from the engineering that goes on behind the scenes, but race cars simply don’t bother. Everything is sacrificed in the pursuit of speed.
Fortunately, that’s a commodity the Pikes Peak Continental has by the bucketload. I was tentative at first, but the power at my disposal made its presence felt with all the subtlety of a carnival clown. Sadly, the only actual clown on display was buried in the driving seat, desperately peering out to make sure he didn’t clump a priceless alloy wheel on a huge concrete kerb.
In my defence, I was handicapped by the low seating position, small windows and the reversing camera, which Bentley had helpfully disabled. It gave me some idea of how it would feel to be a Dalek, imprisoned inside a brightly coloured, oversized post box. And when you’re pinned into a race seat that’s positioned on the wrong side of the car, you can’t even lean forward to get a better view at tight junctions. You just have to edge out and hope you don’t meet a lorry.
Find a good B-road, however, the car comes alive. The exhaust pops and bangs as you drive along, the suspension clatters and bits of the bodywork clang as loose stones fly up into them. All the refinement and calmness you expect from a Bentley Continental is gone, and in its place are big, juicy dollops of power and performance. A standard Continental is quick, but the Pikes Peak has a maniacal turn of pace that’s as addictive as caffeine.
That’s partly because of the havoc emanating from that aftermarket exhaust system. It sounds as though the gates of hell and kryptonite are being blended in a giant Nutri-Bullet. If you aren’t wearing ear protection, it’s borderline painful, but the surge of adrenaline that follows the noise is well worth some minor discomfort.
Almost as impressive as the soundtrack is the agility, which is nothing short of superb. Despite its crash diet at the factory, the Pikes Peak is still enormously heavy, but it doesn’t feel that way. It changes direction with the alacrity of a cat chasing a ball of wool, and the brakes – normally a slight weak spot in the Conti’s otherwise impenetrable armour – are sharp and responsive. Hit them hard, and you’ll feel the G-forces tugging at your face. It’s a wonderfully visceral thing to drive.
Or at least it is for a few hours. As glorious as that performance and noise might be, the Pikes Peak misses the comfort, refinement and class a Bentley normally exudes, and that does wear you down. Bentley will sell you a special-edition version of the Continental that pays homage to this car, but if you’re one of the lucky few receiving one, you’ll be glad to know it’s nowhere near as hardcore. It has the paintwork and the exhaust, but none of the inconvenience. You get 99% of the thrills, without the backache or earache.
But while I might not want to take the Pikes Peak car home, that doesn’t mean I’ve wasted the past few moments of your life. Because to me, this is more than just an incredible supercar. Built in Crewe, by engineers who live and work in the county, it’s also a raucous, record-breaking advert for Cheshire. It’s something we can – and should – be very proud of.
Bentley Continental GT W12 ‘Pikes Peak’
Pikes Peak: 10:18.488s
Engine: 6.0-litre twin-turbocharged W12
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
0-62mph: 3.8 seconds
Top speed: 207mph
Power: 626bhp
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