BDC Continental GT race car unveiled

A Bentley Continental GT race car has been unveiled by the Bentley Drivers Club with a view to launching a new affordable one-make race series specifically for these models.

The powerful 650hp car has been conceived by the BDC in conjunction with motorsport specialists M-Sport, and will be launched with a static display at the Club’s annual race meeting at Silverstone on Saturday 10 August.

The Continental GT, which is designed to be driven on road and race track, has been developed over a two-year period and will offer customers easy access to budget-level competition.

The racey-looking car is based on a 2010 Continental GT Speed chassis, and features lowered suspension, modified front cambers, bespoke race exhaust, front/rear brake cooling ducts and a standard ECU unit. It runs on bespoke 20-inch Oz M-Sport race wheels with Pirelli P Zero Trofeo RS tyres.

Externally, the Continental GT boasts GT3-inspired body panels, front wings, panel and splitter, a rear wing, bumper and diffuser, while the cabin is fitted with Sparco race seat/harness/steering wheel and a FIA standard lifeline fire suppression system.

“The BDC is renowned for its Vintage-car racing, but unveiling an affordable 21st century Continental GT for competition purposes allows us to offer something different and contemporary – and bring the Bentley brand to a whole new range of competitors,” said well-known historic racer Ben Eastick, of the BDC Competitions team.

The BDC is looking for a minimum of 10 orders to be placed from interested competitors to make the project viable. The overall cost to order a race car, including converting a donor car, is around £100,000 including VAT.

“It doesn’t require a team of mechanics or computers to run the car, but it does reflect the sporting origins of the successful Continental GT3 Mk1 race car,” Ben pointed out.

“We believe that in order for the project to work, the cars must be able to hold their re-sale value,” explained Ben. “So in order to attempt to achieve this, we felt it was important that Bentley Motors and M-Sport, who designed and built the GT3 cars, should be involved. This has been reflected in the car’s finalised design and specification.”

Ben added: “Even though Bentley Motors are not officially backing the project, we are grateful for their valuable guidance and support in meetings and in providing OEM CAD designs.”

For more information contact: BDC Competitions team members Ben Eastick on 07769 974975 or Simon Worthington on 07712 596959.