Bentley is taking a bold approach to going green by launching its fastest and most powerful model ever - the Continental Supersports.
With 630hp and a top speed of 204mph it's certainly fast. But eco friendly? The answer is yes, according to Bentley.
Bentley's product range is built around hugely powerful, heavy and luxurious cars powered by large capacity turbocharged V8 and V12 petrol engines - not exactly a recipe for treading lightly from an environmental point of view. And that's how the customers like it, so a diesel, fuel cell or hybrid Bentley was out of the question.
Bentley's answer to the problem is twofold. First, rather than concentrate on inconvenient figures like the Continental Supersport's 388g/km tailpipe CO2 emissions Bentley chooses to focus on 'well to wheel' pollution, comprising the environmental cost of extracting, refining, storing and transporting the fuel as well as burning it in the engine.
Enter the second part of its argument. By using E85 biofuel Bentley claims well to wheel CO2 emissions on the Continental Supersports are reduced by 70%. Whether this will be enough to appease the environmentalists at the gates is another matter but FlexFuel technology - the ability to run on both petrol and biofuel - is key to Bentley's eco strategy.
So what about the car? Bentley has boosted power to 630hp, stripped out 110kg with things like standard ceramic brakes (it still weighs 2,240kg) and beefed up the looks with wider rear arches, extra intakes and new dark chrome trim. 0-62mph drops from 4.5 seconds to just 3.9 seconds as a result, top speed climbing to 2mph to 204mph.
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