Bentley Continental flies to world ice speed record
Most carmakers usually head somewhere warm like Nardo in Italy or the Bonneville Salt Flats to explore the upper reaches of their vehicles performance potential. Bentley went the other way recently when a Continental GT went to Oulu, Finland. Running on frozen sea ice (how much longer will be able to say that?), four-time World Rally Champion Juha Kankkunen achieved a two way average of 199.86 mph over a flying kilometer. Kankkunen was driving his own personal Continental on the six-mile course across ice that was only 28 inches thick. His maximum speed on the record run was 205 mph. A roll cage and some snow tires with wicked spikes, along with aerodynamic tweaks like flush wheel and headlight covers, were the only significant mechanical changes. The engine calibrations were also adjusted to work with some non-standard fuel that was used to cope better with the minus 30C temperatures.
The press release along with a video showing the car making its record runs is after the jump.
[Source: Bentley]
PRESS RELEASE:
Bentley Continental GT smashes world ice speed record
2 March, 2007
Oulu, Finland - A Bentley Continental GT, driven by four-times World Rally Champion Juha Kankkunen, smashed the world ice speed record last week, reaching an average speed of 199.86mph (321.65km/h) on frozen sea off the coast of Finland.
The near standard four-wheel-drive Continental GT - which is privately owned by the world rally star - eclipsed the previous ice speed record of 184.14mph (296.34km/h), set by a Bugatti EB110 Supersport at the same location.
Kankkunen's team endured temperatures of minus 30 degrees Celsius on a 10km section of frozen sea, 50km north of Oulu in western Finland. Accelerating hard over 70cm-thick ice, Juha took around 5km to hit his optimum speed before reaching the start of the marked kilometre over which his speed was measured. In spite of the Continental GT's exceptional grip and traction he experienced wheel-spin even above 120 mph.
After a brief check-over, Juha turned the Continental GT around and drove the measured kilometre a second time to fulfill the judge's requirements, peaking at an incredible 205mph (330km/h).
Yesterday, a further attempt to better this speed resulted in an even higher peak velocity of 206mph (331km/h), but bettering the average figure set a few days before proved impossible due to an increasingly rough and snow covered track.
'The Bentley performed impeccably,' said Kankkunen. 'I was amazed how stable and secure it felt at these high speeds, despite the track's rough and icy surface being scattered with powdery snow. I even managed to stop the car from its top speed within 600 metres.'
Modifications to Juha's Continental GT were kept to a minimum. For safety reasons, a rollcage was fitted, along with Nokian snow tyres. Various aerodynamic tweaks were also made, but the powertrain was essentially untouched, although the car ran non-standard fuel with matching calibration to cope with the extreme temperatures.
'Juha's record-breaking achievement is just what we've come to expect from some of our more adventurous owners,' said Dr. Ulrich Eichhorn, Member of the Board, Engineering. 'It shows that the spirit of the famous Bentley Boys lives on and is still harnessed by drivers with sufficient skill and courage to extract the full potential of our motor cars in extreme conditions - though, naturally, we would not recommend our other owners try to attempt such high speeds on sheet ice!'
This most recent world record set in a Bentley continues a long tradition started in the 1920s when some of W.O's Bentley Boys set the pace at European circuits. In 1922, John Duff drove his Bentley 3 Litre single handed for 24 hours, at an average speed of almost 87mph at Brooklands to secure a Class record. And in 1928, another 3 Litre driven by Dudley Froy became the first car to achieve more than 115mph over a distance of 100 miles at the same venue.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Matthew 1:47AM (2/10/2008)
That is amazing
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TrueDis 6:24PM (3/16/2007)
"Running on frozen sea ice (how much longer will be able to say that?)"
Oh you environmentalists (or should I say chicken littles), you're so funny!
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Agent MOO 6:43PM (3/16/2007)
(how much longer will be able to use bad grammar)
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paul34 7:02PM (3/16/2007)
hardcore... he isn't even wearing a seatbelt LOL
(unless its just something weird with the pic). But then again, I guess seatbelt or not, if you crash at 200 MPH you're screwed either way
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Jordan 7:09PM (3/16/2007)
(how much longer will [we] be able to say that?)
A few hundred more years . . . at least.
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DPC car videos 7:42PM (3/16/2007)
I wonder if the tire will heat up from high speed? :)
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Bob 7:49PM (3/16/2007)
It is amazing he was able to make the run to top speed at all. What with the piles of polar bear carcasses littering the place.
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Tyler 12:21PM (1/29/2008)
FTW - LMAO!
Mike 8:00PM (3/16/2007)
Ya gotta love that crazy Euro Techno-Pop music. Are these guys robots or what?! Oops... there goes that "R" word again!
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pd 9:16PM (3/16/2007)
JUHA was the group B supercar god of rallying.
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Josh 3:01PM (3/19/2007)
You are not supposed to wear seatbealt while driving on the frozen lake for safety reason. It would allow you a quick escape if your vehicle falls into the lake or sea.
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matt 2:15PM (5/24/2007)
haha! Dude, if you crashed a car on the Ice at 200 MPH, are you REALLY worried about being able to get out faster?
And 28 inches of ice huh? Do you have ANY idea just how strong that is? You could crash a freakin' jet into the ice and it wouldn't even crack at that thickness. Our motorsport ice time trial group has a minimum standard of 14 inches before we'll go out onto the ice. SCCA is 12 inches. You could drive a legal, fully loaded 18 wheeler on the ice at 15 inches..............so yeah. I would say 28 inches is nothing to worry about. The snowbanks at 200 mph are................
Maxzillian 1:01AM (3/17/2007)
If you watch the video, the driver is wearing a full race suit, helmet, and using his seatbelt.
I wouldn't think any professional driver would even think about such an attempt without the proper safety gear and precautions.
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Spule4 2:19AM (3/17/2007)
As for the Bentley release, here is the other part from Nokian that has been on the net for a couple weeks now:
http://www.nokiantyres.com/news_en?uutinen=10056626
Nokian Tyres plc
Press release 1 March 2007
New Ice Driving World Record: 321 km/h
Nokian Hakkapeliitta studded winter tyres ensured grip in speedy driving
A new world record speed for driving on ice was achieved when four-times world rally champion Juha Kankkunen reached a speed of 321 km/h on a track ploughed on the ice of the Gulf of Bothnia next to the city of Oulu. Nokian Hakkapeliitta studded winter tyres ensured a firm grip.
The Guinness Book of World Records defined strict rules for this world record attempt: the speed was measured over a distance of one kilometre in both directions within one hour; the measuring point was in the middle of a straight part of the track; the ice had to be natural - it could not be roughed up or treated with any chemicals; and the tyres had to be approved for road traffic in the country in which the record attempt took place.
The significance of tyres is stressed under extreme speeds as the tyres are the vehicle's only point of contact with the substrate. The Bentley Continental GT used for the record attempt was equipped with Nokian Hakkapeliitta Sport Utility 5 studded winter tyres. The tyres have been designed and developed for city SUVs.
When driving on slippery ice at a very high speed, the tyres need to have a good grip, great durability and driving qualities to match the performance. At these speeds, the tyres and studs have to endure exceptionally demanding conditions. The acceleration formula is demanding: when a vehicle moves at a speed of 320 km/h, a stud weighing one gram creates a pulling force equivalent to approximately 2.2 kg. The vehicle covers 90 metres in one second, and each stud hits the ice more than 40 times a second.
"In order to achieve a steady driving speed of 320 km/h, you need gravity of approximately 300 kg or 3,000 N. For the vehicle to accelerate, you need even more force. The tyres must be able to transfer this force into the ice, or the tyre will slip and the vehicle will not accelerate as hoped," explains Nokian Tyres Development Manager Kai Hauvala.
As the air resistance increases, more traction is needed in order to pick up speed. The tyres are under immense pressure at these high speeds, and their diameter can increase by 15-20 mm.
The Nokian Hakkapeliitta tyres with their sturdy frame did very well in this demanding wear test: the tyres' grip was as good as hoped for and none of the studs came off.
For further information, please contact: Nokian Tyres plc
- Marketing Manager Antti-Jussi Tähtinen, tel. +358 3 340 7940
- Development Manager Kai Hauvala, tel. +358 3 340 7673
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Petteri 10:03AM (3/17/2007)
Actually, you cannot do this anymore in Oulu. The ice has melted so much that it's hard to just walk there. So much for chicken littles, huh? The weather is really 1 month ahead here.
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matt 11:12AM (3/17/2007)
omg GLOBAL WARMING!!!!!!!! the sky is falling :(
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Susie 2:39PM (3/17/2007)
I wonder how thick the ice was when "Global Warming" started 6,000 years ago.
Try science. It's called a cycle.
There's a nifty science FICTION movie in the video store these days called "An Inconvenient Truth." It won the Oscar for Best Science Fiction Film. It's hilarious. They get people all spun up and stuff, but Ashton Kutcher never comes out and says "you've been Punk'd" instead it's Al Gore.
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Ford Mustang 3:44PM (3/17/2007)
Now THAT is one specific record. "World Ice Speed" It reminds me of some of the odd records in the Guinness book of world records like longest fingernails.
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TD 5:33PM (3/17/2007)
"Science fiction". Sure. And I'm sure you've seen the movie (not) and that you're a recent MIT grad and can speak intelligently on the subject (not.)
You rightwingnuts just amaze me.
Global warming is an absolute fact. Man's contribution to it is a 99.9% fact. You're perfectly free to question the extent of the problem or dispute the role we all play, but no one is asking you to give up your lifestyle and live in a commune raising organic tomatoes. So what the he ll are you so wound up about?
Or is this just another chapter in the long, sad story of the poor victimized conservatives, being trampled under the feet of the jack-booted liberal tree-hugger army? Gee. Let me stop and wipe your tears.
But when you're done crying about your victimization, just stop and remember that whether our generation lifts a finger or not, it's our children and children's children who will pay the price.
Ahhh - but I'm wasing my time. People like you put more value in the delusional ramblings of comedians like Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter than you do in highly credentialed climatologists and Nobel prize winners. So why listen to a lowly soul like me, right?
As you were.
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Master Jedi Dan 8:11PM (3/17/2007)
the real reason for global warming is because all those chicken littles keep smoking weed
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