Bentley has revealed its new Pikes Peak Continental race car, and it is the epitome of purpose-built performance. This Continental has been thoroughly reworked, and is being billed as the most extreme road-going Bentley ever built. To prepare for the Pikes Peak challenge, Bentley’s engineers built a special aerodynamics kit, reworked the chassis, and pushed the 4.0-liter, twin-turbo, V-8 to an all-new level. Here’s what you really need to know.

This Bentley Continental GT3 Pushes 750 Horsepower

Building a car that can dominate Pikes Peak – a course that goes from an altitude of 9,300 feet to as high as 14,100 feet – is no easy challenge. To make sure this Continental is up to the challenge, Bentley reworked the engine, adding in updated pistons and connecting rods, a brand-new intake manifold, and a one-off Inconel exhaust manifold. With some other tweaks here and there, Bentley engineers managed to bring a total of 750 horsepower and 737 pound-feet of torque to life. As a point of reference, the “regular” Continental GT3 pumps out as much as 550 horsepower at maximum tune while the W-12-powered Continental GT road car pumps out 626 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque.

Continental GT3 Pikes Peak Chassis, Suspension, and Aerodynamics

In order to compensate for the extra power developed by the engine and the excruciating demands of a high-altitude course like Pikes Peak, this Continental also has a secondary cooling system. The standard transmission was swapped out for Bentley’s standard race transmission. As for the chassis, engineers reduced the camber on both front and rear axles and replaced the sway bars and coil springs with components tuned specifically for the course. The springs and sway bar bushings are as soft as possible to aid in weight transfer for braking, and those brakes – by the way – are water cooled to compensate for the heat generated under such heavy load during the race.

When it comes to keeping this beast planted and free in the win, Bentley claims to have improved aerodynamic downforce by 30-percent. This is mostly thanks to that new and huge rear spoiler, but the two-plane front splitter and new dive planes certainly aid in frontal downforce too. Somehow, the same aerodynamic balance between the front and rear has been left undisturbed, something Bentley claims was validated during the car’s first track outing.

Bentley Is Aiming for a Record

Pikes Peak is an unforgiving, vehicle-torturing race that is not for the unexperienced or weak of heart. From start to finish, driver’s will experience an increase of nearly 5,000 foot of altitude across 156 different corners. Bentley is aiming to break a record, and must reach the finish line in less than nine minutes and 36 seconds while maintaining an average speed of at least 78 mph across the entire course. The official Pikes Peak International Hill Climb kicks off on June 27th and the Continental GT3 Pikes Peak is currently undergoing its final range of testing and adjustments in anticipation of its big run up the hill.