The British marque’s new Supersports has touched down with no backseats and a lot less interest in keeping you comfortable.
Eastern Creek at dawn on a Wednesday is not where most people expect to find a limited-edition Bentley with a $794,000 price-tag. It is, however, exactly where Bentley Motors Asia Pacific chose to unveil the new Supersports to Australia, making the 7am Uber through the outer western suburbs – which would normally have all the glamour of a council bin run – entirely worth the early alarm.
The fog was still sitting low over the tarmac at Sydney Motorsport Park by the time the covers came off and a dozen motoring journalists / influencers started to roll in.
Out the front of the garage, the marque had laid out a small fleet. A pair of Bentayga Speeds, one in left-hand drive and one in right, sat nose-to-tail with a Continental GT Speed and one Flying Spur for good measure.
These are the cars doing the heavy lifting for Bentley right now, and seeing them in formation is a timely (and very welcome) reminder that reports of the internal combustion engine’s death have been greatly exaggerated.
Let’s start on the Bentayga Speed. It’s the most powerful SUV Bentley has ever built. A 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 produces 650 PS, that I had the pleasure of driving through Montana late last year for the global reveal, where it carved up the gravel trails of Yellowstone with a composure that bordered on the absurd.
Next to it, the new Continental GT S brings the driver-focused DNA of the Supersports into the broader lineup – a sharper, more visually aggressive take on the Continental GT Speed chassis, with the same hybrid V8 underneath.
But the real reason everyone had been dragged out of bed before sunrise was sitting further in, under a tighter circle of Bentley executives.
The Supersports is the fourth time the nameplate has been used in Bentley’s 102-year history.
The first was W.O. Bentley’s 3-Litre Super Sports of 1925, the first production Bentley guaranteed to crack 100 miles per hour, built on a shortened chassis for agility rather than straight-line speed.
The name disappeared for eight decades before returning in 2009 on the first-generation Continental, which ditched the rear seats, ran on bio-ethanol and was the most powerful Bentley to date.
The 2017 version pushed the formula to its logical extreme: 700 horsepower, all-wheel drive, 336 km/h, and the title of fastest four-seat car in the world. Each one has been a response to the grand tourer going soft. This new one is the sharpest correction yet.
With all 500 examples globally spoken for, the ‘Daybreak’ launch car was sadly never going to see a hot lap on our watch.
Finished in Jetstream Matte with an Arctica and Portofino livery, it sat behind the ropes for the morning. Fair enough. This car has no rear seats. None. The cabin is strictly two-seat, the chassis has been put on the most aggressive diet in Bentley history, and the gross weight sits under two tonnes – a threshold the Continental GT has not seen in a very long time.
Then there is the drivetrain. The Supersports is rear-wheel drive, which is a sentence that deserves its own paragraph in a Bentley press release. Every modern Continental has been all-wheel drive, with the security that brings. Pulling drive from the front axle on a car with this much torque is a purist’s decision and, frankly, a bit frightening.
For the regional depositors in the room, the morning was the beginning of a longer process. The Lead Designer for Bentley Mulliner flew in specifically for the event to start personal commissioning sessions.
“Australia has long been one of our most engaged and discerning markets, and Symphony of Speed reflects the regard in which we hold it,” says Dave Hayter, Regional Director, Asia Pacific, Bentley Motors.
“To choose Australia as the first market in the region to debut the Bentley Supersports and new Continental GT S – both representing the very pinnacle of what Bentley produces today, is a deliberate and meaningful decision.
The Specification
Bentley Supersports
‘Daybreak’ – Jetstream Matte with Arctica and Portofino livery
Engine
4.0L Twin-Turbo V8
Power
666 PS
Torque
800 Nm
0-100 km/h
3.6 sec
Top Speed
310 km/h
Drivetrain
RWD
Kerb Weight
< 2,000 kg
Seats
2
Exhaust
Titanium Akrapovič
“It speaks to the sophistication of the Australian customers, and to the strength of a market that continues to demonstrate an exceptional appetite for Bentley’s most ambitious and performance-focused models.”
Five design configurations have been created for the Supersports, though the Mulliner division offers near-limitless bespoke options beyond those. Australia is one of the highest-ordering Supersports markets in the Asia Pacific, which says something about local appetite for a Bentley that has been deliberately made less comfortable.
First Australian deliveries are scheduled from 2027. The recommended retail price starts at $794,000 before options, stamp duty and the usual local charges.
The Continental GT range opens at $499,000, the Bentayga at $422,000, and the Flying Spur at $495,000.
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