Luxury car makers are renowned for their classical lines, stylish interiors and comfortable driving experience. Elegance and poise are the undisputed king and queen of high end road car manufacturers, creating machinery that excels on long distance journeys to short hops around the many beautiful countryside’s of the world.
The Bentley Continental GT was no exception to this expected practice, having been quickly regarded as one of the finest vehicles of its class following a public reveal back at the 2010 Paris Motor Show, within the confines of the spectacular 228,211m2 Paris expo Porte de Versailles facility. Not content to rest on their laurels, in 2017 Bentley launched the brand new third generation Continental GT to the world, enhancing and improving the car yet further to create what would form the basis of the hugely successful Continental GT3.
Motorsport has been at the heart of Bentley throughout its first 100 years. In 1921, just two years after the first Bentley prototype was revealed, it was racing at the world famous 24 Hours of Le Mans. Today, Bentley races into its next 100 years with the Continental GT3, it’s most dynamic and powerful race car based on its most advanced road car yet. Designed by Bentley at its headquarters in Crewe, the Continental GT3 is raced by the luxury brand’s successful and prestigious teams around the world. The customer racing programme includes the global Intercontinental GT Challenge, as well as some of the top national and international GT3 championships.
In 2018, Bentley Motorsport unveiled the thrilling new Continental GT3 race car. Lighter, more dynamic and even more powerful than its multi-championship-winning predecessor, it’s the most exciting race car ever created by Bentley – because it is closely based on the company’s most advanced road car the newly launched Continental GT.
In 2020, Bentley’s racing teams will challenge for victories around the globe. Competing on five continents against the major premium and performance automotive brands, Bentley and its top-level race teams always aim to be class-leaders.
The 2020 Bentley Continental GT3, capable of delivering in excess of 550bhp, has already enjoyed victory at the 2019 Circuit Paul Ricard 1000km and the 2020 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12-hour endurance events. Looking every inch the championship contender, rFactor 2 players now have the opportunity to race this exceptional car within the simulation – and better yet, it has been added as free content for anyone who already owns the current GT3 Bentley DLC (available from the rFactor 2 Steam Store HERE). That’s right, we have made the decision to release this fantastic new entry into the ever expanding array of GT3 specification race cars within rFactor 2 as a free content addition for owners of the Bentley Continental GT3 DLC. Absolutely anyone who already owns either theoriginal Bentley or the GT3 Bundle will get this new machine and it’s various racing liveries at absolutely no additional cost!
You don’t even need to do anything manually; the new car will automatically download the next time you start your Steam client. If you don’t yet own either Bentley, fear not, the car is now packaged together on the Steam Store as a two car item (for the same price as the original machine).
Just head over to the rFactor 2 Steam Store, purchase the DLC and enjoy both generations of Bentley GT3 machinery within the rFactor 2 simulation! Purchase HERE:
https://store.steampowered.com/itemstore/365960/detail/2/
If you don’t own any of the GT3 cars yet, you can also grab the full GT3 Bundle which includes all 12 cars HERE:
https://store.steampowered.com/itemstore/365960/detail/1001/
If you can’t wait to get your hands on the new car and you fancy some interesting reading about what makes up the nuts and bolts of this latest release, check out some of the technical specifications from the 2020 Bentley Continental GT3, and the various championships in which this racing titan will be plying its trade during the somewhat disrupted 2020 season. Bentley Continental GT3 Technical Specifications.
- Engine: 4.0-litre direct injection twin-turbo V8 developed with the most advance lubricants from Mobil 1 and a Cosworth engine management system
- Max Power: Approx. 550 bhp derestricted
- Transmission: Rear wheel drive, Ricardo six-speed sequential longitudinal gearbox, steering wheel mounted paddle-operated pneumatic gear shift
- Drivetrain: Carbon fibre propshaft, limited slip differential
- Wheels: BBS Forged Motorsport 18” x 13” rims
- Tyres: 355 / 705 R18
- Aerodynamics: Carbon fibre front splitter, rear wing and body panels. Lightweight, aerodynamically-optimised bumpers, bonnet, sills and fenders
- Length: 4860 mm
- Width: 2045 mm
- Height: 1355 mm
- Weight: <1300 kg
As GT3 racing continues to gather popularity across the globe, the Bentley Continental GT3 is set to participate in numerous prestigious endurance racing championship, having already been confirmed as present for the GT World Challenge Europe and Asia championships, British GT, the German ADAC GT Masters and the International GT Open categories. The Bentley success story continues into 2020, and now you have the chance to take on the race tracks of the world in this fantastic new car – all from the comfort of your own rFactor 2 racing simulation.
GT3 BOP Updates
Endurance and GT racing has been brought up on the ethos of converging differing Grand Touring Car designs and shapes into an even playing field of competition. Nowhere else in the world of motorsport can you find such an eclectic mix of different cars, brands and design concepts coming together and competing on the same track, with similar chances of challenging at the very front of the grid.
As GT3 specification competition has continued to grow in popularity around the world, much of the success of the category has to be laid firmly at the door of the less than glamorous world of Balance of Performance, or BOP as it is more commonly known.
Always the subject of many off track debates amongst teams and drivers, BOP is a method employed by many championships to ensure cars of differing shapes and sizes can race together fairly within a common set of regulations, preventing the potential for runaway championship leaders and ensuring a fair shot of success is open to all brands within a series.
As in the real world, our virtual counterparts in rFactor 2 are also subject to these BOP restrictions, as unlike the real world counterpart, should a car prove to be consistently superior to its class rivals, it is rather easier for the sim racer looking to gain an advantage and select the fastest car than it is for a real world team to find hundreds of thousands of dollars to swap machines for the season ahead.
As such, here at Studio 397 we have been working incredibly hard to bring a realistic and fair Balance of Performance to the enviable list of GT3 cars currently in the simulation. Our development team and testers have pounded round the circuit for endless hours tweaking and refining the cars to ensure they retain their individual characters, their inherent strengths and weaknesses and their real world performance levels, whilst still providing an even set of ultimate speed in comparison to each other – just like in the real world!
GT3 Changelog
Includes BOP, Physics, and In-car dash updates
Aston Martin Vantage GT3
v1.71
BOP
- Fuel consumption tweaked to match reference for BoP
Physics
- Reworked aerodynamics (more sensitive to changes in ride heights),
- Fix for radiator cooling options not showing properly in the pitmenu,
- Reduced engine inertia
- New default setup
- Added 10% steps for radiator cooling.
In-car dash
- Added Engine Mixture levels
- Added ABS levels
- Added new alarms for low fuel and oil temperature
Audi R8 LMS 2018
v1.75
BOP
- Reduced drag by about 2%,
- Added 5kg of weight penalty,
- Reduced engine torque/power output by about 1%.
Physics
- Reworked aerodynamics (more sensitive to changes in ride heights),
- Fix for radiator cooling options not showing properly in the pitmenu
- Reduced engine inertia
- Added 10% steps for radiator cooling
- New default setup
Audi R8 LMS 2019
v1.45
BOP
- Reduced drag by about 4%,
- Added 10kg of weight penalty
- Reduced engine torque/power output by about 1%
Physics
- Reworked aerodynamics (more sensitive to changes in ride heights)
- Fix for radiator cooling options not showing properly in the pitmenu
- Reduced engine inertia
- Added 10% steps for radiator cooling
- New default setup
Bentley Continental GT3
v2.73
BOP
- Fuel consumption tweaked to match reference for BoP
Physics
- Reworked aerodynamics (more sensitive to changes in ride heights),
- Fix for radiator cooling options not showing properly in the pitmenu,
- Reduced engine inertia,
- Adjusted steering rack ratio (it’s slightly tigher now),
- Added 10% steps for radiator cooling.
- New default setup
In-car dash
- Added Engine Mixture levels
- Added ABS levels
- Added TC levels
BMW M6 GT3
v1.67
BOP
- Fuel consumption tweaked to match reference for BoP.
Physics
- Reworked aerodynamics (more sensitive to changes in ride heights),
- Fix for radiator cooling options not showing properly in the pitmenu,
- Reduced engine inertia,
- Camber is adjustable in smaller steps (0.1deg, was 0.25deg before)
- Adjustments to differential locking and preload
- Added 10% steps for radiator cooling
- New default setup
Callaway C7 GT3-R
v2.81
BOP
- Increased engine torque/power output by about 2%.
Physics
- Reworked aerodynamics (more sensitive to changes in ride heights)
- Fix for radiator cooling options not showing properly in the pitmenu
- Reduced engine inertia
- Higher engine braking, adjusted launch rpm, adjusted engine lifetime rpm (results in higher engine lifetime)
- Moved aero balance forward by about 4% percent points
- Added 10% steps for radiator cooling.
- New default setup
McLaren 720S GT3
v1.61
BOP
- Added 10kg of weight penalty,
- Fuel consumption tweaked to match reference for BoP
Physics
- Reworked aerodynamics (more sensitive to changes in ride heights),
- Reduced engine inertia,
- Fix for radiator cooling options not showing properly in the pitmenu,
- Fix for some spring options beeing too stiff,
- Added 10% steps for radiator cooling.
- New default setup
McLaren 650S GT3
v2.71
BOP
- Added 5kg of weight penalty,
- Fuel consumption tweaked to match reference for BoP
Physics
- Reworked aerodynamics (more sensitive to changes in ride heights)
- Reduced engine inertia
- Fix for radiator cooling options not showing properly in the pitmenu
- Realigned suspension geometry (to better match the data, which also results in slightly slower steering ratio)
- Adjusted vertical and lateral CG location
- Higher roll damping for anti-roll bars
- Slightly higher clutch inertia
- Fix for some spring options beeing too stiff
- New default setup,
- Added 10% steps for radiator cooling.
- New default setup
Porsche 911 GT3-R
BOP
- Fuel consumption tweaked to match reference for BoP
Physics
- Reworked aerodynamics (more sensitive to changes in ride heights)
- Reduced engine inertia
- Fix for radiator cooling options not showing properly in the pitmenu
- Increased balance shift coming from changes to the rear wing angle (which now has 18 positions vs 20)
- Fix to rear suspension’s inner joints beeing too low for a given ride height
- Higher differential preload (by about 19%)
- Added 10% steps for radiator cooling.
- New default setup
In-car dash
- Added Engine Mixture levels
- Added ABS levels
Radical GT3
v2.67
BOP
- Fuel consumption tweaked to match reference for BoP.
Physics
- Reworked aerodynamics (more sensitive to changes in ride heights)
- Reduced engine inertia
- Fix for radiator cooling options not showing properly in the pitmenu
- Realigned suspension geometry and fix to motion ratios, resulting in different min/max damper lengths and stiffer spring/damper rates
- Added 10% steps for radiator cooling
- New default setup
In-car dash
- Added Engine Mixture levels
- Added ABS levels
Mercedes AMG GT3
v2.75
BOP
- Fuel consumption tweaked to match reference for BoP.
Physics
- Reworked aerodynamics (more sensitive to changes in ride heights),
- Reduced engine inertia,
- Fix for radiator cooling options not showing properly in the pitmenu,
- Added 10% steps for radiator cooling.
- New default setup
In-car dash
- Added Engine Mixture levels
- Added ABS levels
