After 10 years, Bentley heads back to the racetrack
Carmaker taps into its roots with GT3
When British automaker Bentley stepped away from the racetrack in 2003 after a three-year campaign, it did so on a high note with an overall victory in Le Mans.
The intention of the project, said Brian Gush, director of powertrain, chassis and motorsport, was “getting back on the map and making sure the brand was viewed in the context of motorsports.”
Needless to say, the effort was acknowledged.
Gush said that after it had met its objective of winning in 2003, “we decided to concentrate on building the business.” Especially since Bentley had just launched the Continental GT at the time, he added,
And even though the motorsport project had wrapped, Gush said “the desire to go racing never left us.”
After a 10-year hiatus, Bentley is getting back in the game.
At the 2012 Los Angeles International Auto Show, the brand showcased its GT3 concept race car in North America for the first time.
The GT3 concept is based on the recently released 2013 Continental GT Speed — Bentley’s fastest production vehicle to date — and plans to be on the track later this year.
Of course, there are some differences between the roadready and concept vehicles. The GT3 is rear-wheel drive (not all-wheel drive), has state-of-the-art motorsports hardware and a comprehensive aerodynamics package.
But why the long wait between projects?
“We would have liked to come back earlier, but the economy didn’t really support that,” Gush said. “And as things have bounced back up, we felt it was the right time with the new Continental GT Speed. We decided to get back on the track and … use the product that is recognizable.”
With various classes of motorsports in which Bentley could race in, the decision to tap into its roots was a natural fit: the GT class.
“This is getting back into customer racing, which is, interestingly enough, what W.O. Bentley, our founder, actually started back in 1924 when he entered Le Mans,” Gush said.
When it comes to working on a project this time around, Gush mentions the internal resources are more abundant than before.
“We’ve got more facilities now to handle the project within. It makes it even more relevant to daily work and more exciting to be within the factory gates.
“The car is being built inhouse. We do have a technical partner we’re dealing with for specialized motorsport componentry, but they’re just up the road from us, so it’s a local effort.”
There are two great inhouse engines which Bentley could potentially use: the V8 or the W12. Which will it be? “At the moment, we’re leaving it open,” Gush said. “We’re still in the development phase, so we’re packaging both engines in the car and we’ll use the one that’s the most competitive. So at the moment we’re keeping our options open.”
For those who won’t be travelling the GT circuit to watch races overseas, there’s a definite possibility we’ll see this vehicle on our side of the water.
“North America is now very interesting with the Grand-Am and American Le Mans Series (ALMS) converging. They are talking about having a common GT spec and so we’re keeping a close watch on that.
“If our car is eligible, we’ll definitely be in North America,” Gush said.