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Books Models Highlights Cars
of 1998 More Bentleys in this book: |
Car
of the Month - July 2000
On introduction the Bentley Continental SC did surprise with the rather unusual coachwork of a Sedanca Coupé having been selected. Removable front panels offered the combination of open air touring with performance of a thoroughbred sportscar. To a certain degree a classic cabriolet doesn't allow full force as the body lacks the stability of a fixed roof. The boldly styled Bentley Continental SC wasn't thus limited. The attractive body with glass roof and glass insets to the removable front panels encapsulated a most comfortable cabin – and highly sophisticated technical components.
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| Top of Page | It might be stated that as regards its coachwork in the form of a Sedanca Coupé the Bentley Continental SC showed glory from a bygone era. As regards technical features however this model offers a lot of what should be desired for future cars.
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The
turbocharged and intercooled V8 engine developed 300kW of power and 800Nm
of torque, placing this model second world-wide as regards production cars
(only the sister model 
Computer
controlled suspension as an all-independent design embodied a multitude of
advanced features. Continuos monitoring of road conditions, driver's
actions and the car's movement was performed by several ECU's (Electronic
Control Units) effecting for example changes to appropriate setting of the
dampers at a response time of 1/100th of a second. ETAS and VCD –
Electronic Traction Assistance System and Viscous Control Differential –
were perfectly tuned to act complementary, enhancing controllable, safe
handling. During acceleration and cornering, the grip of the rear wheels
was improved by VCD; whereas with a conventional differential, a wheel
starting to spin effectively robs the rear axle of torque.