What it's really like to race in the world's fastest four-seater (spoiler: it's not pretty)

Former Le Mans winner Guy Smith took WIRED's Jeremy White on a hot lap in the Continental Supersports around the Estoril Circuit in Portugal

When Bentley asked if WIRED would like to come and try its most powerful car yet – the 209mph, 700bhp Continental Supersports – we jumped at the chance. After all, this is the fastest four-seater car in the world. The W12 engine that produces 1,017Nm of torque rockets the 2.7-tonne Supersports to 60mph in 3.4 seconds (the same as a Ferrari FF) and on to a top speed of 209mph.

WIRED then had the bright idea of asking Guy Smith, a former Le Mans winner, to show us exactly what the Continental Supersports can do around the Estoril Circuit in Portugal.

For our product editor, however, this turned out to be a something of a mistake. Here you can watch him trying to keep his lunch down as they hurtle round the twists and turns of Estoril.

This, incidentally, is what our product editor is trying to tell you - but somehow he got distracted in a few places:

The Continental Supersports has a torque vectoring system that controls torque on individual wheels to increase acceleration out of corners.

To produce more than 1,000Nm of torque, the turbochargers spin at over 2,500 revolutions per second which results in the turbines reaching almost 1,000 degrees Celsius.

WIRED

At full power, the car inhales more than 500 litres of air per second - the equivalent to 1,000 people breathing in at once.

The lightweight forged wheels can withstand loads of over 8,000 newtons - enough to pick up a typical city car.

WIRED

At 209mph, more than 3,800 litres of air pass through the radiator every second - enough to fill a shipping container in 10 seconds.

At that top speed of 209mph, the Continental Supersports covers the length of a football pitch every second.

WIRED

The Supersports' carbon brakes can withstand temperatures up to 1,000 degrees Celsius - the same temperature as lava.

If you want to see WIRED's "finest" moments of the circuit, stick with the video to the bitter end.

The Bentley Continental Supersports is expected to cost in excess of £200,000 and WIRED can report it is very, very fast indeed - which is quite something for a three-tonne luxury car.

This article was originally published by WIRED UK