Bentley’s Continental GT is the fastest car on ice

Just_me · 03-05-2007, 12:37 PM

A Bentley Continental GT, driven by four-times World Rally Champion Juha Kankkunen, has broken the world ice speed record with an average top speed of 199.86mph (321.65km/h), beating the previous record of 184.14mph (296.34km/h) set by a Bugatti EB110 Supersport. The event took place on the frozen sea off the coast of Finland, where temperatures reached as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius.

The near standard AWD Conti, also owned by Kankkunen, managed to reach a top-speed of 206mph (331km/h) but for the purposes of the record, only average figures were used. Despite the GT’s exceptional mechanical grip and the addition of spiked Nokian snow tyres, the car still experienced wheel-spin at speeds in excess of 120mph. Modifications to the car, other than the studded tires, included a full roll cage and minor aerodynamic tweaks, but the drivetrain remained untouched.

The rules of the attempt is that the ice must be formed naturally and cannot be treated with any chemicals, while the tires must be street legal in which ever country the attempt is being made. When travelling at 200mph, each stud on the tire exerts up to 2.2kg of pressure and covers a distance of 90m per second.

MikeJ · 03-05-2007, 01:31 PM

This is the first I've heard of it... A quick googling told me that it took place not far from here, I might have gone to take a look had I known about it.

I did see the Bugatti 12 years ago and that was something I won't soon forget.

MikeJ · 03-07-2007, 02:32 AM

A couple of pics I found:

MikeJ · 03-11-2007, 05:26 AM

And a short video:

BMW_Dude · 03-11-2007, 05:29 AM

This is a very impressive record, and needs a very brave person to do it!

Wonder what a Bugatti Veyron could do though!

Yannis · 03-11-2007, 09:54 AM

Quattro rules again!

Don't think that i am nuts. Bentley's AWD system is exactly the same with A8 and in fact Audi engineers were responsible for testing and tuning .

The Emperor · 03-16-2007, 04:52 AM

LOL, Andreas, how about checking MikeJ's last post in this thread...

phaeton · 03-16-2007, 06:22 AM

Go Bentley, succeeding off the track

03-05-2007, 12:37 PM	#1 (permalink)
Just_me Expert Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Sweden Posts: 12,612 Thanks: 741 Thanked 2,035 Times in 1,028 Posts	Bentley’s Continental GT is the fastest car on ice A Bentley Continental GT, driven by four-times World Rally Champion Juha Kankkunen, has broken the world ice speed record with an average top speed of 199.86mph (321.65km/h), beating the previous record of 184.14mph (296.34km/h) set by a Bugatti EB110 Supersport. The event took place on the frozen sea off the coast of Finland, where temperatures reached as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius. The near standard AWD Conti, also owned by Kankkunen, managed to reach a top-speed of 206mph (331km/h) but for the purposes of the record, only average figures were used. Despite the GT’s exceptional mechanical grip and the addition of spiked Nokian snow tyres, the car still experienced wheel-spin at speeds in excess of 120mph. Modifications to the car, other than the studded tires, included a full roll cage and minor aerodynamic tweaks, but the drivetrain remained untouched. The rules of the attempt is that the ice must be formed naturally and cannot be treated with any chemicals, while the tires must be street legal in which ever country the attempt is being made. When travelling at 200mph, each stud on the tire exerts up to 2.2kg of pressure and covers a distance of 90m per second.

03-05-2007, 01:31 PM	#2 (permalink)
MikeJ Fanatic Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Oulu Posts: 2,038 My Mood: Thanks: 159 Thanked 539 Times in 300 Posts	Re: Bentley’s Continental GT is the fastest car on ice This is the first I've heard of it... A quick googling told me that it took place not far from here, I might have gone to take a look had I known about it. I did see the Bugatti 12 years ago and that was something I won't soon forget.

03-07-2007, 02:32 AM	#3 (permalink)
MikeJ Fanatic Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Oulu Posts: 2,038 My Mood: Thanks: 159 Thanked 539 Times in 300 Posts	Re: Bentley’s Continental GT is the fastest car on ice A couple of pics I found:

03-11-2007, 05:26 AM	#4 (permalink)
MikeJ Fanatic Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Oulu Posts: 2,038 My Mood: Thanks: 159 Thanked 539 Times in 300 Posts	Re: Bentley’s Continental GT is the fastest car on ice And a short video:

03-11-2007, 05:29 AM	#5 (permalink)
BMW_Dude Aficionado Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 4,224 My Mood: Thanks: 265 Thanked 392 Times in 234 Posts	Re: Bentley’s Continental GT is the fastest car on ice This is a very impressive record, and needs a very brave person to do it! Wonder what a Bugatti Veyron could do though!

03-11-2007, 09:54 AM	#6 (permalink)
Yannis Philosopher Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 7,198 My Mood: Thanks: 1,243 Thanked 1,229 Times in 701 Posts	Re: Bentley’s Continental GT is the fastest car on ice Quattro rules again! Don't think that i am nuts. Bentley's AWD system is exactly the same with A8 and in fact Audi engineers were responsible for testing and tuning .

03-16-2007, 04:52 AM	#7 (permalink)
The Emperor Malicious Persecutor Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Where noone has gone before... Posts: 9,144 My Mood: Thanks: 1,411 Thanked 1,572 Times in 953 Posts	Re: Bentley’s Continental GT is the fastest car on ice LOL, Andreas, how about checking MikeJ's last post in this thread...

03-16-2007, 06:22 AM	#8 (permalink)
phaeton Contributor Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Australia - South Australia Posts: 1,165 Thanks: 1,040 Thanked 453 Times in 244 Posts	Re: Bentley’s Continental GT is the fastest car on ice Go Bentley, succeeding off the track

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