KUALA LUMPUR: A ultra-wealthy Malaysian is the proud owner of one Bentley Continental GT out of the 48 Continental GTs and GTCs produced globally for the Le Mans Collection.
To mark 20 years since Bentley's sixth victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and 100 years since the first running of the legendary race, Bentley had launched a limited edition of 48 Continental GT Coupes and Continental GTC's, each powered by the Bentley W12 engine, the most successful 12-cylinder engine of the modern era.
The Le Mans Collection Continental GT was available for RM4,540,696, inclusive of import duty, excise and sales tax, before registration.
All 48 Le Mans Collection Continental GT's and GTC's worldwide have been spoken for.
The Le Mans Collection Continental GT features the renowned 6.0-litre W12 TSI engine, delivering 659PS (650bhp) and an extraordinary 900Nm of torque.
This limited-edition Continental GT is one of the last few to feature the iconic W12 engine since Bentley Motors announced the discontinuation of it last year.
This results in a top speed of 335km/h and 0-100km/h in 3.6 seconds.
A combination of four chassis technologies give the new limited edition a level of agility, performance and ride quality as expected of a car with this heritage.
These include Bentley Dynamic Ride and three-chamber active air suspension with adaptive damping.
The optional and newly-developed Carbon Ceramic Brakes, Variable Electronic Stability Control, All Wheel Steering, and an Electronic Limited Slip Differential bolster the agility and performance even further.
The Le Mans Collection Continental GT is specified with the three-way Bentley Rotating Display, offering a choice of touchscreen, dual veneer or analogue dials — but with a twist; in place of the standard central dial is a Vitrine displaying an engine valve from the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 of the 2003 Le Mans winning Bentley Speed 8.
The engine was removed after the contest and preserved, and now 24 of the 32 valves from the engine have been bisected to create 48 artefacts for this exclusive collection of ultimate Grand Tourers.
The standard 12-hour analogue clock is replaced by a digital clock with a bespoke dial design — a 24 hour one, naturally.
Mulliner, Bentley's personal commissioning division, took inspiration from the dark green Speed 8 racing cars that swept all before them at Le Mans in 2003.
Mulliner's designers had closely studied the winning Speed 8 of 2003.
The limited number of Continental GT's in the Le Mans Collection are finished in Verdant green, with a Moonbeam racing stripe across the bonnet (and Coupe roof).
The Blackline specification nods to the black and green livery of the Speed 8, while the carbon-fibre Styling specification body components are finished in black with a subtle pinstripe in Moonbeam.
Beluga black is also chosen for the lower front bumper, wing mirror caps and rear 'horseshoe' area beneath the bootlid spoiler, while black 22-inch ten-spoke wheels shroud powerful carbon ceramic brakes and red brake calipers.
Meanwhile, the distinctive Bentley matrix grille (originally developed to protect the radiator on the unpaved Le Mans racetrack of the 1920s) features a painted #7 in Arctica white, combining the race-winning number of 2003 with the painted radiators of the Bentleys that won Le Mans five times between 1924 and 1930.
The interiors of the Le Mans Collection Continental GT is far more luxurious than those of the Bentley Speed 8s — but there's the same sense of sporting purpose.
A bespoke 2003 wreath welcome lamp ushers you into a cockpit trimmed in Beluga hide.
Performance-bred napped Dynamica fabric covers the seat faces, while the interior's monochrome colour scheme is relieved by contrast seat stitching and seatbelts in Hotspur.
The steering wheel, trimmed in hide and Dynamica, also features Hotspur contrast stitching and six o'clock accent tab.
The dual-finish veneer on fascia and door waist rails is executed in Piano Black and high gloss carbon fibre, with a fine chrome pinstripe separating the two.
The fascia displays the six-wreath emblem inlaid into high-gloss carbon fibre, marking each of the six outright victories recorded by Bentley at Le Mans between 1924 and 2003.
