What's all this about?

Bentley’s Sydney dealership has teamed up with Mulliner, the company’s customisation division, to create a pair of one-off special Continental GTs paying tribute to the firm’s win in the GT3 class at the Bathurst 12 Hours endurance race in Australia in 2020. The two cars were commissioned to mark the Australian launch of the V8-powered Continental GT S and, as such, both cars are based on the GT S, but with some subtle and not-so-subtle design cues setting them apart from standard models.

Such as?

Well, let’s talk about the first car. The colour scheme — Apple Green with contrasting black — is reminiscent of Bentley’s 2020 race winner, as is the big number seven on the grille. With green being the main exterior colour, the roof, wing mirrors and lower bumper are all finished in black. The Blackline styling pack sees all the exterior brightwork replaced with polished black equivalents, while the Styling specification adds a carbon-fibre finish to the front splitter, side skirts and rear diffuser.

And what about the other one?

It's just the same, except it's painted silver.

Any interior changes?

Compared with Bentley’s GT3 racers, it’s certainly a lot more luxurious. Even compared to a standard GT S though, there are a few tweaks. The word “Bathurst” is stitched into the seat headrests of both cars, with the treadplates also reading “One of Two”. A metal plaque depicting the outline of the Bathurst circuit is present on the carbon-fibre dashboard fascias of both cars with the names of the winning drivers — Maxime Soulet, Jordan Pepper and Jules Gounon — and the number seven included on the centre console. The cabin is largely finished in a blend of black leather and Dinamica (an Alcantara-like material) with contrasting stitching and piping in the exterior colours of both cars. Both also come with a “commemorative framed artefact” celebrating the 2020 race as well as a 1:18 scale model of the winning car.

Anything new under the skin?

Nothing beyond the standard specification of the standard Continental GT S. That is to say that both cars retain the same twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 developing 550hp and 720Nm of torque, which delivers a 0-62mph time of four seconds. Both cars also retain Bentley’s Dynamic Ride active anti-roll system which uses motors within the anti-roll bars to counter any major body roll under hard cornering and to improve ride comfort at cruising speeds.

What is Bathurst anyway, and why was Bentley's win such a big deal?

The Mount Panorama Circuit at Bathurst in New South Wales is a legendary motor racing venue. The best-known track in Australia, Bathurst is actually a road circuit and is open to the public to drive when there’s no racing taking place. The two biggest races held annually at Mount Panorama are the Bathurst 1000 touring car race in October and the Bathurst 12 Hours, a production and GT car endurance race held each February. The latest-generation Bentley Continental GT3 car, launched in 2018, hasn’t had the most convincing racing record and the Bathurst win in 2020 marked what was arguably the most high-profile win for the M-Sport-prepared car — that’s the Cumbrian motorsport engineering firm M-Sport, by the way, not BMW’s performance division. It was, admittedly, a fine victory in muggy 40-degree Celsius heat with an on-the-ball pit-stop strategy and strong driver performances; the winning car also set a new race distance record of 314 laps.

James Fossdyke - 23 Jan 2023