It's the most powerful Bentley ever built, and now it'll be a limited-production model.
At today's New York Auto Show, Le Mans champion driver Derek Bell discussed the Bentley Supersports ISR convertible, the car that set a new ice speed record of 205.48 miles per hour in February on the frozen surface of the Baltic Sea.
Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible ISR and Derek Bell, New York Auto Show, April 2011
With the actual world-record car behind him, Bell discussed his participation in the speed-record attempt, with four-time Finnish rally champ Juha Kankkunen at the wheel.
It may be the only Bentley ever displayed by the maker with a parachute on the back, let alone a full roll cage neatly fitted around the leather and polished metal interior.
Bell noted that unlike other speed records, on ice the driver essentially can't use the brakes. He learned this lesson, he said, when he drove the car back to the base camp, braked for the entry--and slid right past the turn.
Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible ISR and Derek Bell, New York Auto Show, April 2011
"I had to put the car in reverse and back up to the entrance," he said, a rare admission from a man who's won the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race a remarkable five times.
Bentley will build 100 copies of what it's calling the Continental Supersports Convertible Ice Speed Record, offered in three unique exterior colors--Beluga, Quartzite and Arctica White--with a folding cloth top in Dark Grey Metallic.
Unlike the record car, however, they will not have flat plates covering the wheels, the headlamp openings, and most of the grille.
For more coverage of the 2011 New York Auto Show, see our full listing of stories.
