Never shy about reminding people of the prodigious performance of their cars, Bentley recently put a Continental GT Speed in the hands of legendary Australian racer, John Bowe to see what he could do with it in one of earth’s most desolate places.
Bowe, a 6-time champion in four different series, has been racing for over 40 years, and in 2009 was inducted into the V8 Supercars Hall of Fame. He also races a Continental in GT3 trim in Australia. This experience made him the perfect choice to take the Bentley super coupe to its limits on the Stuart Highway that essentially cuts the continent of Australia in half.
With the road closed, the car thoroughly checked for safety, bright sunny skies and no wind, Bowe stomped on the accelerator, unleashing all 626 horsepower from the Bentley’s 6.0 Liter twin-turbocharged W12 engine. It took just 76 seconds for the car to reach its maximum top speed of 206 miles per hour. Just for reference that’s the equivalent of crossing a football field every second.
Said Bowe of the drive, “This isn’t a modified racer; it’s a luxurious grand touring road car fresh off the production line. It took us a little over a minute to go from a standstill to 206 miles per hour. That’s extraordinary.”
