 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
2003 Bentley EXP Speed 8 news, pictures, and information | ||
| Tweet | ||
It is no exaggeration to describe the 2003 Bentley Speed 8 as a new car. Though the previous two generations of Speed 8 performed spectacularly well, returning Bentley to the Le Mans podium in 2003, it was felt that for the final year of the three-year programme, a fresh approach was required. Clearly the car still features enclosed bodywork meaning it remained in a class of its own and the engine retained its basic architecture, 4-litre capacity, direct fuel injection and twin turbochargers. In all other significant respects it was a new design from the ground up. The concept driving the design was to ensure much better exploitation of the airflow over the body and particularly to the rear wing. To achieve this, the external cockpit area was much reduced, though the car is actually more spacious inside, making a smaller hole in the air and allowing the car to use a much smaller, more aerodynamic engine cover. In addition, the air-intake that had sat on top of the car in previous generation Speed 8s was deleted in favour of snorkel-type intakes on the sides of the car. This not only further increased the efficiency of the air-flow over the car, it also lowered the height of the car, lending it a much more sleek, aggressive appearance. Early testing results indicated that not only did the 2003 Speed 8 have a more favorable downforce to drag ratio than its predecessor, it also offered much more consistent aerodynamic performance in all conditions making the car both quicker and easier to drive. Únderneath the new skin the 4-litre engine was re-engineered around the new regulations for 2003 that dictated a 10 per cent reduction in engine restrictor size across all classes competing at Le Mans. It was necessary to redesign many internal engine components as well as evolve a new electronics strategy for the engine to minimise the shortfall in power that the new regulations brought to all competing teams. The suspension was entirely redesigned as well, partly to improve further its behavior, but also so it can be adapted to suit its new Michelin tires. All the geometry was changed, even the mounting points of the rear suspension on the gearbox. That alone necessitated a new gearbox casing for the Speed 8. As in previous generations of Speed 8, the internals were supplied by Xtrac. The 2003 Bentley Speed 8 won the 2003 24 Hours of Le Mans in dominating fashion, beating the previous champion Audi. Guy Smith drove the number 7 Bentley Speed 8 across the line, and David Brabham followed up in 2nd place in the sister number 8 car. This gave Bentley their first victory at Le Mans in 73 years, and their 6th victory overall. Source - Bentley Media |  |  | Coupe |
| BORGWARNER TURBOCHARGERS POWER NEW SERIES OF DIESEL ENGINES FOR COMMERCIAL VEHICLES | |
 | • BorgWarner's Turbocharging Technologies Help Increase Fuel Economy, Reduce Emissions and Improve Performance for New Medium-Duty Engines AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Feb. 21, 2013 - BorgWarner supplies its latest turbocharging technology for a new generation of medium-duty engines from Mercedes-Benz, the first commercial vehicle manufacturer to achieve Euro VI compliance for all of its medium- and heavy-duty engines. Replacing the successful 900 series, the new OM 934 and OM 936 engi...[Read more...] |
| BORGWARNER INTRODUCES NEXT-GENERATION EFR TURBOCHARGING TECHNOLOGY AT 2012 SEMA SHOW | |
 | • BorgWarner Hosts 2012 Indianapolis 500 Winner Dario Franchitti on October 30 • Borg-Warner Trophy™ on Display October 30 - November 1 BorgWarner (NYSE: BWA) will introduce its next-generation EFR-7163 (Engineered for Racing) turbocharger as well as its current EFR and AirWerks™ Series turbochargers at the 2012 SEMA Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center on October 30 – November 2. Featuring an innovative light-weight aluminum bearing housing and mixed-flow turbine, BorgWarne...[Read more...] |
| BORGWARNER EFR TURBOCHARGERS EARN REPUTATION FOR PERFORMANCE, DURABILITY AND DEPENDABILITY AT INDYCAR AND LE MANS | |
 | BorgWarner's Race-Proven Turbocharging Technology Delivers Powerful Performance and Durability without Incident BorgWarner's first year as the exclusive turbocharger supplier for the IZOD IndyCar® Series established a reputation of powerful performance, durability and dependability for EFR (Engineered for Racing) turbochargers. Throughout the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series race season, BorgWarner's EFR turbochargers accumulated over 212,000 miles during practice, test, qualifying and race ev...[Read more...] |
| SUBARU ROAD RACING TEAM FINISHES IN TOP 12 AT A GRUELING WATKINS GLEN | |
 | Warm and dry weather took its toll on race cars and their drivers in this weekend's race in the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge series at the world-famous Watkins Glen International road racing course near Watkins Glen, N.Y. Challenging conditions and a recently instituted performance adjustment by the sanctioning body had their effect on the Subaru Road Racing Team's (SRRT) on-track performance. Despite the difficult circumstances, the team's pit crew plus drivers Andrew 'A. ...[Read more...] |
| JAGUAR EXPANDS POWERTRAIN CHOICE WITH TWO ADDITIONAL FORCED-INDUCTION PETROL ENGINES | |
 | As Jaguar expands its product offer in key global markets it is introducing two additional petrol units to its range to enhance customer choice; the new 3.0-litre V6 Supercharged Petrol, and the 2.0-litre I4 Turbocharged Petrol. Adrian Hallmark, Global Brand Director, Jaguar Cars, said: 'Jaguar currently has its strongest range of products for several decades. Our continued growth is dependent on two things; activating the awareness of the brand, and expanding our range to enable us to access...[Read more...] |
| View more GT vehicles |
 2003
Bentley
models |
| Bentley Arnage R |
| Bentley Arnage T |
| Bentley Azure |
| Bentley Continental GT |
| Similar Automakers | |
| Aston Martin | Bugatti |
| Devon | Ferrari |
| GTA | Koenigsegg |
| Lamborghini | Lotus |
| Maserati | Maybach |
| McLaren | Porsche |
| Rolls-Royce | Spyker |
| Tesla | |
| Similarly Sized Vehicles from 2003 |
| Aston Martin DB7 GT |
| Aston Martin V12 Vanquish |
| Audi R8 |
| BMW X5 |
| Chevrolet Cavalier |
| Daewoo Flex |
| Ford Mustang |
| Ford Mustang Cobra SVT Mystichrome |
| Isuzu Axiom |
| Isuzu Rodeo |
| Bentley: 2001-2010 |
| Similar Automakers |
| Other models by Bentley |
| Related Articles and Event Coverage |
| Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance |
| 2003 Chicago Il |
| 2003 Geneva Switzerland |
| 2003 Los Angeles CA |
| 2003 New York City, NY |
| 2002 Detroit MI |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
