2010 Bentley Continental Supersports

2010 Bentley Continental Supersports

Episode 2921
Auto Value and Bumper to BumperTire Rack "The Way Tire Buying Should Be"

Big, graceful, race-bred Bentleys are certainly nothing new.  Since the early ‘20s, they’ve earned the company six Le Mans wins and the prestige that goes along with them.  Indeed, super-luxurious Bentley four-doors have basked in the limelight for decades now.  But, for 2010, Bentley has built a very special coupe, and revived the Supersports name to go with it.  So, we jumped at the chance to see just how super it really is. 

The 2010 Bentley Continental Supersports’ silhouette is little changed from its less potent Continental stablemates. They all share a 108.1-inch wheelbase and a 189.1-inch overall length, but racy styling cues help this fastest Bentley ever stand out.

A central ‘letterbox’ intake and two vertical apertures in the front fascia feed 10% more air through the Supersports’ radiator and intercoolers. All of the mesh on the front end- from the intakes to the familiar Continental grille to the twin heat extractors in the hood- is finished in the same “smoked steel” as the headlight bezels, 20-inch ten-spoke alloy wheels, and rocker panel trim.

Classic big-coupe good looks have worked just fine for the Continental so far, and the Supersports is no exception. Well-drawn body lines sweep over wider rear fender flares, which accommodate a two-inch wider rear track.

From behind, the Supersports is distinguished by smoked taillights and larger-diameter exhaust outlets set in a narrow black surround. The overall effect is a very menacing Bentley.

For motivation, the Supersports relies on the same 6.0-liter, twin-turbo W12 that has been under the Continental’s hood since its debut in 2004. But this time around, there’s 621 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque on tap.

That’s a bump of 21 horses and 37 pound-feet over the Continental GT Speed, and a leap of 69 horsepower and 111 pound-feet over the Continental GT. The heavily-revised ZF six-speed ‘Quickshift’ automatic with wheel-mounted paddle shifters is the only available transmission, and it cuts fuel and ignition between gear changes for lightning-quick shifts. In ‘Sport’ mode, they’re almost telepathic.

The extra power hauls a car featuring lightweight wheels, carbon-ceramic brakes, revised aluminum suspension components, and no rear seats. All told, the Supersports weighs in at 4,939 pounds, 243 pounds lighter than the GT Speed.

At the track, it was a velvet sledgehammer. Power builds up fast and smooth, and its baritone around-town burble gave way to a primal roar at wide-open throttle. Our Supersports blazed from a standstill to 60 in 3.9 seconds-that’s eight tenths quicker than the GT-and through the quarter mile in 12.3 seconds at 115 miles per hour, figures that put it in the same league as much more spartan supercars.

Through the slalom, the all-wheel drive Supersports’ revised dampers and anti-roll bars, coupled with its new 40/60 rear-biased torque split, made for quick, neutral responses in corners.

Steering has been retuned too, and we found it to be quick and direct but with little feedback. Being ham-fisted results in understeer, while being overzealous with the gas tipped the Supersports over into power oversteer. For being as big and heavy as it is, however, the Supersports is very agile, with minimal body roll even in high-speed maneuvers.

Those big carbon-ceramic brakes snapped it all to a dead halt from 60 in a very impressive average of 109 feet. The pedal is soft, but travel is short, and stops were stable and fade-free.

For all the dynamic gains on the track, the Supersports loses a little refinement on the road. The ride is somewhat stiffer, but nothing we couldn’t put up with. Bentley-exclusive manually adjustable Sparco sports seats were noticeably thin on padding, but generously trimmed in leather and diamond-pattern Alcantara and still very comfortable.

The dash largely carries over from the regular Continental, with a substantial center stack and two “wings”- in the Supersports’ case, trimmed in leather and faced in carbon fiber.

The biggest difference from the driver’s seat is the leather three-spoke steering wheel. And, as usual, Bentley has the details perfect, from the Breitling clock and organ-stop vent controls to the drilled alloy sports pedals.

Now, there’s only room for two, but they’ll enjoy standard satellite navigation, front and side curtain airbags, and 10-speaker sound.

As you might surmise, Government Fuel Economy ratings are low: 12 city, 19 highway. Our test loop returned 13.9 miles per gallon on premium gas. But  Bentley has become eco-minded. By summer, the Supersports will be the first Bentley that runs on E85, and by 2012, the entire lineup will be FlexFuel capable. Available now in very limited numbers, the Supersports starts at $272,195 including a $2,600 gas guzzler tax.

The 2010 Bentley Continental Supersports delivers such astonishing performance that the slight ride penalty is easily overlooked. It’s more like its famous racer namesakes than any road-going Bentley ever built, and is indeed a fitting tribute to those proud Winged ‘B’ warriors.

 

Specifications

  • Engine: 6.0-Liter, Twin-turbo W12
  • Horsepower: 621
  • Torque: 590 Lb Feet
  • 0-60 MPH: 3.9 Seconds
  • 1/4 Mile: 12.3 Seconds @ 115 MPH
  • 60-0 MPH: 109 Feet
  • EPA: 12 MPG City/ 19 MPG Highway
  • Mixed Loop: 13.9 MPG
2025 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque

2025 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque

Baby Rover Continues To Evolve

Episode 4430
Auto Value and Bumper to BumperTire Rack "The Way Tire Buying Should Be"

When most people hear “Range Rover” they tend to think of high class, high performance and high dollars. But, Range Rover does the entry-level thing quite well too with this Evoque. It has plenty of posh attitude, along with some recent updates. So, let’s see how the Evoque continues to evolved.

Our involvement with the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque’s evolution began when this small utility first arrived for 2012. It looked more Spice Girl than Tough Mudder, but it packed a surprising amount of capability into its subcompact dimensions. This second gen arrived for 2020, and has gained recent updates at the most likely midway point in its lifecycle.

Intrigued but not necessarily enthused could probably best describe our history with the Evoque, but Land Rover always has a way of drawing us in with very tasteful designs. They pretty much got this one right back in 2020, so styling revisions are largely limited to new Pixel LED headlights and a reshaped front fascia. There’s also new super-red signature lighting in back, all of it done to bring the Evoque more in line with the rest of the Range Rover family.

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And like all of its siblings, all-wheel drive is standard and it does have Terrain Response 2 with specific off-road modes, but no one’s expecting to see a lot of Evoques out on the trail, unless there’s a new Lululemon Outlet at the other end of it having a killer sale.

Land Rover has once again taken the P300 296-horsepower version of the Evoque’s 2.0-liter turbo-four out of the lineup, leaving just the standard 249-horsepower version under the clamshell hood. No complaints from us, its 269 lb-ft of torque is more than adequate to move this 3,900 lb. ute around.

And at Mason Dixon Dragway, it moved us to 60 mph in 7.7 seconds. There was plenty of traction off the line, and while not overwhelming, power feels plentiful, staying very consistent down the track. Gearchanges in the Evoque’s nine-speed automatic transmission were quick and smooth, barely a blip in the process as we finished the quarter-mile in 16 seconds flat at 85 mph. Plenty quick for a compact utility with luxury intentions.

[It maneuvered] with a substantial presence that not too many small utilities have.

It felt quite good through our handling course too, with a substantial presence that not too many small utilities have. The Evoque uses selective braking to torque vector power between all four wheels, and it enabled us to cruise through the cones quickly without any excessive understeer or oversteer. There was some nosedive during our panic braking test, but the brakes were very responsive and strong enough to bring us to a halt in a short 115 feet from 60.

But, it’s the inside experience that really matters with any luxury vehicle, particularly in a Range Rover. And here things look more high-end Swedish than Tudor or Victorian, with a minimalist cabin design that’s way more visually appealing than practical. There’s real leather covering just about everything, and what appears to be just a tablet stuck in front of the dash is a new 11.4-inch touchscreen. Not only are the inner workings much faster than the previous infotainment setup, but the entire interface of this Pivi Pro system is vastly better than the split screen approach of before.

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The center console that leads up to it appears much less cluttered and frees up some additional space for storage. The shifter is still here, but it has gotten much smaller. Front seat space and comfort remain high, though rear seat room is still very tight for adults. Cargo space is not bad for a small utility, with room for 21.6 cu-ft. of gear in the hold, which expands with 40/20/40 split-folding seatback flexibility to 50.5 cu-ft.

Government Fuel Economy Ratings are 20 City, 27 Highway, and 22 Combined. That’s an average Energy Impact Score, using 13.5 barrels of oil annually, with CO2 emissions of 6.6 tons.

Land Rover has been paring things down in the Evoque lineup for years, no longer offering a two-door version or the convertible, and now have simplified things even further to just the P250 available in only two trims: S, which stickers for $51,175, and Dynamic SE, which starts at $56,375; but you can add just about every package available and still come in right around $60,000.

Luxury-minded utility vehicles are coming at us from all angles these days, but the 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque is a bit unique in that it remains as sort of a cheat code for sneaking you into the Range Rover VIP experience. You’ll feel like you’re getting away with something every time you drive it.

Specifications

As Tested

  • Engine: 2.0-liter turbo-four
  • Transmission: 9-speed automatic
  • Horsepower: 249
  • Torque: 269 lb-ft
  • 0-60 mph: 7.7 seconds
  • 1/4 Mile: 16 seconds at 85 mph
  • Braking, 60-0 (avg): 115 feet
  • EPA: 20 City | 27 Highway | 22 Combined