Bentley launches its ice breaker 02 | 03 | 2011

BENTLEY IS celebrating creating a new world ice speed record by launching a limited production run of just 100 Supersports ‘Ice Speed Record’ convertible.

The car is a celebration of the company’s world ice speed record set two weeks ago by Finland’s four-time world rally champion Juha Kankkunen in a Bentley Continental Supersports convertible.

Driving the all-wheel drive, biofuel-powered 6-litre, 12-cylinder Continental Supersports convertible on the perilous frozen Baltic Sea, off the coast of Finland,  Kankkunen achieved a speed of 205.48mph eclipsing his own ice speed record of 199.83mph set in 2007 in the Continental GT.

The limited edition model uses the firms six-litre, twin turbo-charged W12 engine, producing 631bhp and 590lb/ft of torque. This is mated to a ‘quickshift’ six-speed automatic ‘box launching the convertible from 0-60mph in 3.8secs.

The car is available in three specific exterior colours — Beluga, Quartzite and, fittingly, Arctica White — plus it boasts 20in, 10-spoke Supersports wheels with a dark tint finish.

Inside the luxurious cabin, there's diamond-quilted Alcantara lining the doors, quarter panels and seat facings, plus ‘soft-grip’ leather on the steering wheel and gear lever.

The seats are piped in red, there's a touchscreen infotainment system from the new Continental GT, and there's high-gloss carbon fibre on the dashboard, centre console and roof panel, featuring red weave.

CLICK HERE to see video of Bentley setting a new ice speed world record

CLICK HERE to see more images of the Bentley on our Facebook page

Keep up-to-date with all the latest news from Geneva by following us on twitter.com/scotcars

Jim McGill