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Rhys Millen Drives the Bentley Continental GT to New Record on Pikes Peak

This past weekend, Pikes Peak was at the center of attention in the motoring world as the annual hill climb challenge took place. And this year too the competition was fierce, records toppled and new kings were crowned.
Bentley Continental GT Pikes Peak 11 photos
Photo: Bentley
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In the production car category, meaning vehicles with no extras on except for safety equipment, the record to beat this past weekend was 10:26.9 minutes. It was set by David Donner in 2015 on board a Porsche 911 Turbo S.

That time was beaten this Sunday, and was beaten hard, as the new champion did the run more than 8 seconds faster.

The new king of the course is, who else, Rhys Millen. He climbed behind the wheel of a Bentley Continental GT and together went up the 12.42-mile course, navigating the 156 bends at an average speed of  70 mph (113 kph), and completing the run in 10:18.488 minutes.

"This is an amazing finish to a wet, snowy 2019 run at Pikes Peak! We came here with one goal in mind, and that was to be the fastest production car up the mountain and set a new record,” Millen said in a statement.

"It was an incredible week. Today was a challenge with what Mother Nature threw at us, but the Continental GT held strong all the way to the top, and we are now Number One”.

This is the second time in just a year that Bentley proves its worth on the world-famous hill climb. Last year, the carmaker’s SUV, the Bentayga, managed to climb to the top in 10:49.9, almost two minutes faster than the previous record. Again, piloting it was Millen.

The Pikes Peak Hill Climb is an event that takes place annually. It requires cars to take on a climb of 4,720 ft (1,440 m) from the start at Mile 7 on Pikes Peak Highway, to the finish at 14,110 ft (4,300 m) above sea level. The road is made up of over 156 turns spread over a 12.42 miles (20 km) distance.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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