Dale Beaver's 2002 Bentley Speed 8
(click the image to go back)
After a 73-year absence Bentley returned to racing in
2001 with a pair of "Speed 8" race cars, numbers
7 and 8. Strongly resembling and sharing some technology
with the short-lived Audi R8C which had raced only once,
the Bentley Speed 8 debuted in the 24 Hours of Le Mans
(both Audi and Bently are owned by VW). That year the
cars were fitted with turbocharged 3.6-liter Audi V-8
race engines developing in the neighborhood of 600 horse
power. The Speed 8 reached a top speed of over 220 mph.
The number 8 Bentley acheived 3rd place overall and first
place in the LM GTP category for closed prototypes, with
the number 7 car suffering a fire that took it out of
the race.