| First Drive | East Sussex, England | Bentley Continental Supersports |

Mixing pace with grace, the Bentley Continental Supersports tops the already rather fast Continental GT range. With its 6.0-litre turbocharged W12 engine producing a prodigious 621bhp, a tweaked chassis and four-wheel drive system to deliver a more entertaining, rear-biased delivery, the Supersports is Bentley's best Continental model yet.

By giving the Supersports E85 bio-fuel capability Bentley can claim some greenness too, but just try explaining the wheel-to-well conversion formulas, 17.3mpg combined consumption and 388g/km to an environmentalist and you'll be laughed out of the room. Forget that then, and instead concentrate on the Supersports' ability to gain speed, it reaching 62mph in just 3.9 seconds on the way to a top speed of 204mph.

In the Metal

The squat, pent-up muscularity of the standard GT gains some real purpose in its transformation to the Supersports. The deep air intakes on the front look like they could create their own low pressure weather system such is their volume, while the larger wheel arches covering the huge wheel and tyre package is remarkably effective in differentiating the Supersports from its GT and GT Speed relatives. The view from the side mirror is brilliant, the flared rear arch reminding you that you're in something a bit different from an 'ordinary' GT.

Inside it's a beautiful combination of quilted leather, carbon fibre, brushed metal finishes and chrome. There are no seats behind you either, the rear pews binned as to weight-saving measure, their removal adding some useful luggage space, too.

What you get for your Money

For a few thousand pounds shy of £170,000 you get Bentley's fastest, most powerful production car ever. It's also one of its most accomplished driver's cars, with the changes to the engine, chassis and electronic driver aids creating a Continental GT that's not just fast on the straights, but is more able to exploit its performance in the bends, too.

Driving it

Any Continental - in fact any Bentley - is quick, but the Supersports adds some ferocity to the delivery of that pace in the model line-up. The W12 engine, combined with the slick-shifting automatic, makes for easy performance, the Supersports delivering its shocking pace with Bentley's usual user friendliness. That's not to say that it's not involving, as the Supersports delivers some real involvement behind the wheel. Its weighty steering needs some muscle, but its speed and accuracy cannot be faulted, the suspension doing a good job of balancing composure and comfort - on all but the most focussed settings.

There's the option of shifting the automatic's ratios yourself via paddle shifters, but the transmission is so smooth and capable when left to its own devices it's best left alone. Better then to enjoy the comical pace the W12 dishes up when you push the accelerator to the floor. The grip on offer is beyond belief, the Supersports' nose feeling more planted than its regular relatives'. Traction too is phenomenal, the Bentley's four-wheel drive system delivering all the force of the 6.0-litre 12-cylinder to the tarmac without any fuss whatsoever.

It's very easy to drive, very quickly. The brakes are super strong - useful given that, while some 110kg lighter than other Continental GTs, the Supersports is still something of an automotive anvil. It's not blunt though, the Supersports demonstrating a finesse that's surprising given its bulk. It's got a good voice too, the sonorous note emanating from the massive exhausts giving the Bentley Supersports a sound to match its more assertive looks.

Worth Noting

Being able to run on E85 - a plant-derived fuel mixed with 15 percent petrol - means Bentley can claim that on a 'wheel-to-well' basis the Supersports is relatively green. Bentley suggests a 70 percent drop in emissions, reducing the 388g/km to 116g/km. That's assuming you can find an E85 pump in the UK, or actually care how much your Bentley is emitting. Good luck getting that claimed 17.3mpg too, the reality being about 5mpg less - or more if you're prone to succumbing to the temptation to push the accelerator hard to the floor.

Summary

The Supersports takes everything that's good about the Continental GT and turns up the dial a bit. The steering is more immediate, the performance greater, the balance more resolved - yet it rides and cossets just as a Bentley should. If you're hankering after a Continental GT then the Supersports is the one to have, even though its £40,000 more than the standard car. At this level that's virtually irrelevant, and the benefits it brings outweigh the outlay.