Bentley has claimed the outright record for a production car at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb with the Bentley Continental GT. The grand tourer was driven up the Colorado hill by three-time champion Rhys Millen, who completed the 19.99 km course in 10:18.488, taking 8.4 seconds off the previous record and averaging 113 km/h.
Climbing almost 5,000 ft through 156 bends, Millen and the W12-powered Bentley zoomed off the start line at 9,300 ft and climbed to 14,100 ft, where the air is a third less dense than at sea level.
“This new record once again proves that the spirit of endeavour and desire to push the boundaries of automotive performance remain at the beating heart of Bentley. It clearly demonstrates the Continental GT’s astonishing breadth of ability,” said Bentley’s director of motorsport, Brian Gush.
“This is an amazing finish to a wet, snowy 2019 run at Pikes Peak! We came here with one goal in mind, and that was to be the fastest production car up the mountain and set a new record. It was an incredible week. Today was a challenge with what mother nature threw at us, but the Continental GT held strong all the way to the top, and we are now number one,” Millen said.
In last year’s “Race to the Clouds”, the Bentley Bentayga claimed the outright record for a production SUV on the Pikes Peak course. Also piloted by New Zealander Millen, the big luxury SUV completed the course in 10:49.9, taking nearly two minutes off the previous record.
The record run on one of the world’s most challenging motorsport courses is the latest highlight of Bentley’s centenary year. July 10 marks Bentley’s 100th year and a year-long series of special activities will continue during 2019, with celebrations at other events around the world.
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