Bentley isn’t the first brand which likely springs to mind when you think of sliding, tyre smoking vehicular stunts, but with the help of action sports star Travis Pastrana, it’s launched the new Supersports in a unique way.
Filmed prior to Pastrana’s last official Gymkhana series video ‘Aussie Shred’, the Bentley ‘Supersports: FULL SEND’ film was produced to promote the new limited-run sports coupe, based on the big Continental grand tourer.
With 490kW and 800Nm going to the rear wheels from its twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8, Pastrana has no issues with smoking the Supersports’ tyres, as he slides through the grounds of Bentley’s factory in Crewe.
Only minor modifications were made to the Supersports to get it to perform impressive slides, such as a hydraulic handbrake – complete with the car’s codename ‘Mildred’ on its handle – plus the ability to press the accelerator and brake pedals at the same time.
In addition to wearing Pastrana’s #199 on its grille and windscreen banner, the latter also includes ‘1919’, the year Bentley was founded.
Not one to shy away from its history, Bentley also included a number of other cars from its past in the short video, including the two generations of its Continental GT3 race car, the 2003 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning Speed 9, the 1999 W16-powered Hunaudières concept car, the Pikes Peak Bentayga and Pikes Peak Continental GT, plus five pre-WW2 vehicles.
“I knew the Supersports would have a lot of power but I was happily surprised by how nimble and fun it was to drive,” Pastrana said.
“I’ve never driven a production-based car to film a video of this magnitude before, without a clutch or modified steering angle, I had my concerns – but the Supersports exceeded all of my expectations. It was exactly what I had hoped for – the perfect combination of luxury and performance.”
All 500 examples of the Bentley Supersports have already been sold.
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