205 mph on ice
Living in England you may have experienced some hazardous driving conditions this winter with all the snow and ice we have seen. With all the reported accidents its astonishing that anyone can do 205mph on ice! But this was not just any old person in any old car on any old road – Juha Kankkunen drove a Bentley Continental Supersports convertible on the hazardous frozen waters of the Baltic Sea, off the coast of Finland.
Kankkunen drove his all-wheel drive, 6-litre, 12-cylinder Bentley Continental Supersports convertible which, in line with the Company’s CO2 strategy, ran on biofuel. With the world’s fastest soft top car, Juha was able to shatter his own 2007 world ice speed record of 199.83 mph (321.6 km/h) set in the Bentley Continental GT at the same ice road location.
Kankkunen said, “The last time, I narrowly missed the magical 200 mph mark in a Continental GT. When I heard about the Supersports I was determined to go record breaking again with the Bentley Boys. This time, with over 600bhp under the bonnet, a Quickshift transmission and the security of the all-wheel drive system, the Supersports convertible was the perfect car to go for the record.”
The Bentley Continental GT from the Anglo-Finnish team was not modified hugely and resembled any used Bentleys, it just had a fully-welded, heavy-duty safety roll-cage, along with Pirelli winter tyres and a rear bumper-mounted parachute provided reassurance in case of an emergency. Front and rear spoilers provided optimum high speed stability on the treacherous surface.
Wolfgang Durheimer, Bentley’s new Chairman and Chief Executive, said: “The ice speed record is an amazing feat by Juha Kankkunen, whose skill and courage in extreme conditions truly make him one of the modern-day Bentley Boys. We will be celebrating this achievement with a very special ‘extreme’ Bentley, which will be the most powerful model ever to bear the famed Winged B emblem.”
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