CLASSIC NEWS
Bentley Continental Supersports: Born for competition more than 90 years ago
After reading our cover story on the new Bentley Continental Supersports this week, we thought you might be interested in a bit of history on the model.The name Supersports has been part of the brand’s history for more than 90 years.Conceived by the company’s founder, WO Bentley, the original 1925 "Super Sport" models were built on the Bentley 3.0 l chassis and were intended for racing."Competition is the cheapest way of selling cars," Bentley once said. We are not sure that is still the case today.Bentley encouraged his customers to race and built cars designed for competition.Eighteen customers opted for the Super Sport, with its shortened chassis and straight-four engine. Bentley personally guaranteed that the car would exceed 100mph (161km/h) — a breathtaking speed in 1925, when the fastest anyone had travelled in a car was 150mph (241km/h).That person was world land-speed record holder Sir Malcolm Campbell, who set the speed at a time when the fastest that most cars could achie...
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