Bentley has shown the first Continental GT Pikes Peak by Mulliner special edition customer car to roll off the production line, and it looks like something that teenage you created in Need For Speed on your PlayStation 3.
This particular Continental GT is one of 15, only five of which feature a mountain view side graphic you can just about see on the image below, which was optional. The rest of the garish detailing…that all comes as standard with a car that costs…we’re not told, actually. Bentley is famously secretive about how much this sort of thing costs those wealthy enough to have the Bunsen. A standard Conti GT costs £160,000.
It comes with a luminescent Radium by Mulliner’ paintwork, a full carbon fibre body kit, neon green brake disc callipers, and a set of Pirelli P Zero Colour Edition tyres. Inside, the trim is accented by Radium coloured contrasting stitching, the fascias are carbon fibre panels, as are the waistrails, and there’s a Pikes Peak overlay on the passenger side carbon panel.
So why a Pikes Peak edition in the first place? Well, it’s because in June 2019 a W12-powered Continental GT beat the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb record, and by a significant margin: by 8.4 seconds, with a time of 10:18.4. You’ll notice the massive ‘100’ on this special edition’s grille, which is another option and is there to denote that the record was accomplished during Bentley’s centenary year, 2019.
The 12.42-mile Pike’s Peak course in Colorado is famously gruelling, climbing 5000ft through 156 bends, with Bentley also happening to hold the record for an SUV, with a Bentayga. The actual record, for any car (non-production models included) is held by, believe it or not, a modified Volkswagen ID3 electric car, which got past the post in a barely believable 7 minutes and 57 seconds.
To achieve its particular record the W12 Continental GT was driven by Rhys Millen, nicknamed ‘King Of The Hill’ for his accomplishments there, and who also drove the Bentayga for its record run.
The wonderfully named Peter Bosch, from Bentley’s Board for Manufacturing, said: “Bentley has always built cars that are a magical combination of bespoke craftsmanship and everyday usability. With Mulliner, we have increased the boundaries of our production system through bespoke highly personalised products and small series limited editions.
“With collaborative and seamless integration into our state-of-the art manufacturing operations, we deliver the exclusivity and bespoke customer individualisation expected from a Mulliner product and at the same time adhere to Bentley’s highest quality and reliability standards,” he concluded. And with that, so do we. Bosh.
Keyword: Continental GT Pikes Peak edition is your teenage Need For Speed Bentley