With latitude of 63 degrees 31 minutes 05 and five seconds North, and longitude of 25 degrees 11’21 East, if the position didn’t give it away, the elevation certainly does. At zero feet above sea level, you immediately recognise that the Bentley Continental is somewhere all top athletes go to perform at their best. This ice blue montage highlights the Bentley Ice Speed Record 2011.
The Supersports ISR team embark on this intense adventure in the Bay of Bothnia, off the coast of Finland, an ideal site for a new world record attempt. It makes perfect sense therefore that the ideal driver for this quest also be a Finn. Since one of its racing legends already holds this record, he certainly is the right choice.
Juha Kankkunen, Finland’s four-time World Rally Championship winner in 1986, 1987, 1991, and 1993 takes centre stage in the short film. No stranger either to the more extreme forms of speed and rallying, he also won the Paris-Dakar Rally. In 2007 however, he took this art to a new level, setting the World ice speed record in a Bentley Continental GT.
The other star of this show of course is the car itself. This Bentley Continental Supersports convertible is powered by the twelve-cylinder six-litre engine. Extraordinary traction is provided by its all-wheel drive to keep it on the ice track. In order to even have a look at the speed record, the twin-turbocharged W12 engine has 621 bhp and 463 kw of power on demand. This means that 0-60 mph takes just 3.9 seconds.
The race is not just run on the day of the event however. Kankkunen’s own team of engineers, together with those from Bentley partnered together to ensure they overcame all the challenges of this unique racetrack. From sub-zero temperatures, to surprise snow blizzards, to threatening crosswinds, the environment alone provided enough of a test.
Meticulous preparation goes into this team effort. Every component of the vehicle bears special attention, from the gloss black rims, gleaming disc brakes and custom-grooved low profile tyres, to the oxblood red grill and flying B insignia. With the defining criteria here being the capacity for speed, the team must ensure that every inch of the car is sleek and contoured for swiftness. There must be no ice anywhere on the car which could increase drag and slow the car down.
That goes for the fuel of the car as well. FlexFuelled with E85 BioEthanol is used to not only demonstrate the potency of such bio-fuels, but also to ensure that at minus thirty degrees, absolutely nothing freezes except the 16.5 kilometres of track.
Watching the intense focus as Kankkunen thrusts the car forward over the 70-cm thick layer of sea-ice is electric. Willing the speedometer on, the audience is captivated as we see the car speed towards resetting the world record.
Eventually reaching 330.695 kilometres per hour, the world’s fastest soft top was the perfect choice for Juha to break his own record of 2007. This is a car as dazzling as the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, itself. Our ice white Bentley Supersports is just as impressive on the road, and well worth a look.