205 MPH... On Ice!

Back in the 80's, 200 miles an hour was world-record territory for a road car. The F40 was the first stock production car to break the 200mph barrier, with others following after it.  Those early race-derived supercars were  raw, elemental thunderstorms of power and grip with little concession to human comfort.

So it's a sign of great technical progress that a Finnish rally driver named Juha Kankkunen recently went 205mph in what is essentially a stock Bentley convertible, a leather-lined luxury rocket that's as far from an F40's rawness as one can possibly get.  What's so cool though?  It was 205mph on ice.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAWvAUuvT5A

I have to say, if I was going to shoot for the world speed record on ice, I'd probably get a Continental GT SuperSports too.  What's strange is he did it in a convertible supersports.  With all-wheel-drive, a 621-horsepower twin-turbo W12 engine, and sophisticated ESP, the list of cars better suited to a high-speed ice run is pretty short.  I'm thinking tuned Nissan GT-R, 911 Turbo S, maybe a Gallardo LP570-4 SV?

The Continental is remarkably close to stock specs, too.  There's a roll cage for safety, Pirelli snow tires for grip, and a few aero modifications to make the big Bentley more stable at high speeds - as well as a parachute to slow down.  The engine, suspension, etc is all the way it came from Crewe.  The venue for this record was set on a frozen lake with 70mm thick ice in the Baltic Sea, just 4km off the coast of Finland.  The final number, verified by the Finland Traffic Police and a Guiness World Records representative, was an amazing 205.48mph.  The record was set on E85 BioEthanol, too - fitting in with Bentley's C02 policy.

Juha is no stranger to ice speed records - he holds the previous record as well.  Set in 2007 in a "regular" Continental GT Coupe, he beat his previous best of 199.83 mph thanks mostly the the extra 70-odd horsepower the SuperSports has over the standard GT.  Before that, the previous record was set in 1995 by a - get this! - Bugatti EB110 SS, at a piddling 184mph.

Bentley says they will be releasing a limited (100 units) edition Continental GT in honor of the new record at the upcoming Geneva show, saying it'll be the baddest, most powerful car to wear the flying B ever released.  No other details, but imagining a more hardcore Bentley than the Continental SuperSports stretches the imagination!  Keep an eye out for this new model around March 1st.  In the mean time, high five to Juha Kankkunen, who is setting a new standard for automotive bravery.