Bentley is bidding for a Pikes Peak triple crown
Bentley will send its Continental GT3 race car up Pikes Peak this year in an attempt to set a third record.
The British company began its record-breaking run in 2018 when it fired a Bentayga up the hill with Rhys Millen at the wheel. Millen set an SUV production record of 10 minutes 49.902 seconds, smashing Range Rover’s previous effort by almost two minutes.
Bentley and Millen were back a year later with a road-going Continental GT (top). This time it wasn’t quite such a crushing victory, with the Bentley running 10 minutes 18.488 seconds to beat David Donner’s 2015 run in a Porsche 911 Turbo S by eight seconds.
For 2021 Bentley is gunning for the GT3 class and it will take some doing. The current holder, Raphaël Astier, flew up the hill in just nine minutes 23.721 seconds in his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Turbo in 2019. The GT3 has proven to be extremely successful on track, with more than 120 podium finishes on its way to championship wins in Europe and the U.S.A.
Bentley’s previous Pikes Peak wins led to limited-edition versions of the Bentayga and Continental GT being released, so this last run is just for bragging rights. The car will be run by British Bentley customer team FastR, with further announcements about the assault on the hill coming soon, including the driver. In the meantime enjoy Millen’s 2019 record run in the video below.
