Can the most luxurious Bentley drift on snowy roads? Accustomed to the drifting picture of sports cars like the Porsche 911, or high-performance cars such as bmw M and Audi RS, many people may not imagine that in fact, Bentley, whether it is a continental GT, a flying spur or a Bentayga can also do it.
And, when these behemoths weighing more than 2 tons dance beautiful waltzes at a large angle on the ice, the visual effect of pulling smoke all the way is even more shocking!
The first time to float a big Bentley on ice
In February 2013, I was invited to participate in Bentley's Power On Ice Event in a glacial lake in northern Finland. I was driving on ice for the first time, and I had never been exposed to drift before, so I was actually confused about the whole time. So, although it is the second time I have opened a Bentley on ice in Changchun Xingxing Reservoir, it is the first time that I have actually floated these big hunks. Now that I think about it, the opportunity that was so good back then was a bit of a waste.
However, there is one thing that impressed me and has made me very interested in this particular way of driving ever since. That's the hot lap of four-time WRC champion Finnish driver Juha Kankkunen. He was driving the Bentley Continental Super Sports, which he himself broke the ice top speed record at 330.695 km/h. The car was speeding on the ice, but the old man was calm and relaxed, witnessing his divine operation, I absolutely opened my eyes, can the car still be driven like this?! This skill is also too handsome! Since then, I seem to have embarked on a new goal in my life.
Since then, every year from January to winter, all kinds of ice and snow test drives have become my favorite. Over the years, I have successively experienced the drift of ice and snow of many brands and models such as Porsche, Ferrari, Lotus, BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, etc. Although it is only the level of half a bottle of water, it will certainly not be as small as when I first participated in the Bentley ice and snow event.
So for me, it's really nice to have the opportunity to drive Bentley on ice again, and it's a rare opportunity to know that Bentley is holding an ice and snow test drive in China for the first time. This ice and snow test drive is actually the beginning of a series of activities for Bentley to celebrate its 20th anniversary in China. At the same time, thanks to the successful launch of the Bentayga SUV, Bentley's global sales have also increased year by year in recent years, with the performance of china and North America particularly eye-catching. Many people complain about the sluggish automotive industry, but ultra-luxury brands are the exception, Bentley's annual sales in the Chinese market last year increased by as much as 40% year-on-year, such a good performance is indeed worth celebrating.
"Flying Life" in Changchun Xingxing Sentinel Reservoir
Back to this ice and snow test drive. In terms of model lineup, Bentley's full range of models after the replacement, including the Continental GT, Flying Spur and Benta-EQ, are all on the field. Their V8 version is powered by the same 4.0-litre twin-turbo engine, with a maximum power of 549 hp and a peak torque of 770 Nm, which has been described in detail in previous articles and will not be repeated here.
In addition to the pure gasoline version, Bentley also brought a plug-in hybrid model just released last year, the Bentley Bentayga FEV, which is equipped with a plug-in hybrid system consisting of a 3.0T V6 engine and an electric motor, with a combined power of 449 hp, a peak torque of 700 Nm and a 5.5 second acceleration of 100 km/h. I test-drove the Bentayga PHEV in Yunnan last year, here is more to say, let's not think that it is a six-cylinder machine on the underestimation of it, in terms of personal experience, in addition to the advantages of fuel consumption, the driving experience of the plug-in-mixed Bentayga in the city is actually a higher level, and its 100 km acceleration is only 1 second slower than the V8 model, which can still be called excellent.
Among these three cars, I personally think that the most easy to get started is the Continental GT. It is undoubtedly a typical large luxury GT sports car, but compared to the Flying Spur and Bentayga, it has the shortest wheelbase and the lightest body, so it is also the most flexible in dynamic performance. As long as you master the basic essentials of four-wheel drive drift, whether it is the basic circle and the 8-character, or the advanced rally track, it is not difficult to drive this car to do a coherent and beautiful drift.
If you ask me, how is it different from the Porsche 911 Carrera 4S or 911 Turbo, which are also four-wheel drive, drifting on ice? There is no essential difference in basic operation, but the Continental GT is heavier and longer than the body of the 911 after all, and its dynamic response will slow down, especially after doing the pendulum action, you must have enough patience to wait for the tail side slide. In other words, it leaves you with enough reaction time, which is actually very similar to the four-wheel drive version of the Porsche Panamera, and because of this feature, it is more friendly to novices who have never been exposed to drift.
In fact, the performance of the Flying Spur is the most surprising of the three cars. In the pile winding project, originally there was no great expectation for the big flying speed with a length of more than 5.3 meters, but I did not expect that the huge body between the pile and the pile with the depth of the throttle can also be driven by the car, and if the pile line of the last pile barrel is reasonable, the pendulum action is successfully completed, and even the end of the turn bend can be beautifully floated on a section, that sense of satisfaction is really no less than "flying life". Relatively speaking, the Bentayga PHEV is more difficult to run this project, the throttle or pendulum is slightly out of place, and the car is easy to push the head.
How is 4WD drift different from 4WD drift?
Bentley's full range of models are all four-wheel drive models, drift techniques and rear-drive vehicles are not the same, here to share a few four-wheel drive drift personal experience. After the rear of the four-wheel drive car slides up, the amplitude of the reverse direction must not be as alternating as the rear drive, and many times it is even just back to the right direction.
You can zoom in on the above picture to see, you will find that the front wheel almost no counter-attack angle. On the contrary, if you copy the method of hitting the oil in the back-drive car, because the front wheels of the four-wheel drive vehicle also have a driving force, then the vehicle immediately loses its drifting attitude, and the front of the car rushes to the bend and pushes out. Of course, in order to make a coherent drift, you must also know how to adjust the body posture. Four-wheel drive in the drift process, if you feel that the car is going to be straightened, at this time is hitting the direction to close the throttle, the car will increase the sliding angle; if you feel that the car is about to spin around, hit the direction and step on the throttle deeply, but remember that after the front of the car is pulled back, you must return to the steering wheel in time, otherwise it will lose its drifting posture as I said earlier.
Of course, just because the mind is meeting doesn't mean it's really happening. Four-wheel drive drift Because many of the operating methods are contrary to the rear-drive, it will definitely take time to adapt to the practice. Personal summary of the four-wheel drive drift in one sentence: stop the hand, forget about the large number of alternations, try to get the direction as far as possible.
Bentley Ice GT, limited edition worldwide
The event site also statically displayed a special edition model - Ice GT, the global limited one, you read it correctly, it is really a global limited one, and only for Chinese customers to sell. Built by Bentley's personalisation department Mulliner, the continental GT V8, the same 4.0T V8 engine, has a maximum power of 550 hp and a peak torque of 770 Nm.
Inspired by the Continental GT race car that competed at the 2020 Ice Grand Prix in Austria, the car has a consistent body livery, interior and exterior details are decorated with a striking kingfisher blue color scheme, and the ice GT's exclusive custom pattern can be seen on the seat headrest, the co-pilot's carbon fiber panel and the door pedal.
Bentley Snow, see you next year
Finally, as a digression, this year's epidemic has made many media colleagues regretfully miss this precious opportunity to float bentley on the ice. Therefore, I also sincerely hope that Bentley China can continue to maintain the tradition of ice and snow activities in China, so that more and more media and customers can feel different Bentley in the ice and snow environment.
— END —