The Bentley Continental GT3-R is Not Joking Around

Apply whatever adjective you'd like: powerful, fast, luxurious, beautiful...sexy, even*. They all fit. And now, Bentley's decided to let loose a little bit, and with the Continental GT3-R, it's added a new phrase to its repertoire: serious sporting intentions.

*Women tell me the same thing.

The GT3-R is basically the road-going homage to Bentley's recently debuted GT3 and as such, it has functional hood vents to keep things cool up front, carbon fiber at the front and rear to help control airflow, and stripes that mimic its thoroughbred cousin.

Then it gets serious. The engine's spitting 572 hp. The all wheel drive system's been redone with performance in mind, working with the car's computers to optimize handling. It even takes a page out of classic American hot rodding, and uses very short gear ratios to boost acceleration. The result is a staggering 3.6 second 0-to-60 time.

The interior is even sportier than the exterior, with—unusually for a Bentley—no wood to be found. The seats have extra support bolsters on the side to help you stay planted during hard cornering maneuvers, while everything is coated in carbon fiber, Alcantara, and leather.

Bentley's engineers also managed to shave about 200 lbs off the car's weight for performance reasons, no doubt helped by the removal of the back seat. Your golf clubs and/or driving helmet will be super cozy back there.

Aaron Miller is the Rides editor for Supercompressor. He's not sure how quick this would be on a track, but if you've got to commute in your track car, this is a pretty good way to do it.