The Bentley Supersports: A stripped-out engineer's indulgence

Bentley provided flights from Washington, DC, to Monterey, California, and accommodation so Ars could drive the Supersports, as well as ride in a preproduction Torcal EV, which we wrote about last week.

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MONTEREY, Calif.—Last week, we brought news of the Bentley Torcal, a new electric vehicle that the luxury automaker has been cooking up at its HQ in Crewe, England.

The company wants to attract new customers with its first battery EV, part of a plan to make sustainability as much a part of the brand's character as its high-end fit and finish.

W12 engines have given way to V8 plug-in hybrid power, and the new Continental GT is all the better for it .

But around the same time as Ars got its first experience of that new PHEV two-door on a rather wet Spanish racetrack, some of Bentley's boffins were wondering what might happen if you also built one without the hybrid stuff.

Or all-wheel drive—something that has been a characteristic of every new road-going Bentley since the turn of the century.

That would certainly cut the curb weight.

So, too, would leaving out the rear seats.

That sort of idea leads down a well-trodden path for some OEMs, and Porsche in particular is famous for making stripped-out road cars inspired by its race cars and making money from them, too.

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