Yesterday, I brought you the Alpine A110 Sports X, a one-off concept with skis on its back. Today, it’s Bentley’s turn. This is the Continental GT Ice Racer.
It’s their entry into this year’s GP Ice Race in Zell am See, Austria. The race is made up of multiple events including a race around a 600m track carved into the ice and an activity called ‘skijoring’. That’s a competition where a skiier is towed by a vehicle (originally a riderless horse).
Sounds cool, doesn’t it? Almost as cool as the one-off Continental looks! Mechanically, it is almost unchanged. It uses the standard 626bhp W12 engine and, in theory, has the same 207mph top speed and 3.8 second 0-60. It won’t be getting anywhere near that on the ice, though.
Minor tweaks include a slightly raised suspension setup and a 15mm increase in width. A raucously noisy Akrapovic exhaust system and widened wheel arches accompany a set of studded Pirelli tyres to keep it moving in the right direction.
Like the A110 Sports X, the Continental GT Ice Racer comes equipped with skis – very expensive Bentley-branded Bomber skis in this case. There’s also a massive light bar mounted on the roof with blue and black bodywork to make sure the car looks the part.
Inside, you’ll find the usual racecar accessories including Sparco bucket seats and racing harnesses, a roll cage and a fire extinguisher. You’ll also find FIA European Rally Championship Ladies Trophy winner and former CBeebies presenter Catie Munnings behind the wheel.
It’s not the first time Bentley have put their cars on the ice. Despite falling on the wrong side of two tonnes, the Bentley Continental Supersports convertible hit a speed of 205.48mph on the frozen waters of the Baltic Sea – a world record speed on sheet ice.
The GP Ice Race in Zell am See will be taking place across February 1st-2nd so we’ll have to wait until then to see how the Continental GT Ice Racer gets on.
The alloys