Bentley Supersports convertible vs. Goodwood hill

July 2010

The Goodwood Festival of Speed is the ultimate celebration of the best road and racing cars in the world. But what really makes the event worth a visit is seeing these race and rally machines in action on the famous 1.16-mile hillclimb course which snakes past Goodwood House.

The presence of such automotive gems attracts big name drivers too. And Auto Express was lucky enough to sit beside Le Mans legend Derek Bell for a run up the hill in the latest Bentley Supersports.

Resplendent in his race suite, Bell drops into the Supersports’ carbon fibre seat with moments to spare. He’s just returned from driving a Ferrari racer up the hill, but is quickly at home in the Bentley – Bell has been an ambassador for the brand for years.

Before the start, drivers are supposed to spin their wheels to maximise tyre heat. But the big Bentley’s four-wheel drive “doesn’t allow for any such misbehaviour”, much to Bell’s frustration.

The Supersports may not perform smoky burnouts, but the way it picks up speed off the line is impressive – the claim of 0-60mph in 3.9 seconds seems believable. At idle, the 621bhp 6.0-litre W12 engine is tuned to be quiet. But at full throttle, the car emits a cultured roar, interrupted by a growl each time the auto gearbox changes gear.

Braking for the first corner, the way the speed is wiped away by the ceramic brakes is equally notable, and Bell guides the big convertible round the first right-hander with fingertip adjustments to the steering.

Powering past the house, there’s no time to notice the crowds as the speedo sweeps past 100mph. Bell brakes heavily for the trickiest corner on the track – the left-hander called Molcombe. Using all of the road, and a little of the dirt which clatters around the wheelarch, we’re safely through and blasting up the straight to negotiate the famous wall.

Braking blind, the Bentley pitches forwards and we thread between the unforgiving flint and sturdy hay bails. Despite the technical nature of this section of track, Bell makes very few inputs – he just leans on the car’s reserves of grip and powers through, tweaking the car’s line with tiny steering and throttle adjustments.

We sweep through the last left-hander, inside wing mirror tickling the bails beside the track, and Bell backs off as we power over the finish line.

The car transforms once again “from performance racer to comfortable cruiser –the Bentley’s spread of ability is its most endearing quality”, according to the driver. 1.16-miles in a minute, but it feels even faster than that.