Bentley is celebrating the 100th birthday of its original Supersports with a new model, bearing the same name, based on the Continental GT Coupe.

So, it has a big V12 and four-wheel drive?

No. No, it doesn’t. You might be a bit behind on the whole Continental GT lore? No, this Supersports is based on the current Continental GT, which usually comes with a plug-in hybrid twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 engine. This time around, for the Supersports, the hybrid bit has been ditched, as have two of the propshafts.

You mean it’s broken?

No, I mean it’s rear-wheel drive, and also much lighter than the standard car thanks to the lack of batteries and propshafts. Bentley hasn’t given a precise figure for how much lighter it is than the regular Conti GT, although it has said that the Supersports will be the first Bentley in quite a while to duck below the two-tonne mark, which suggests a drop of around 500kg, making it the lightest Bentley in 85 years, apparently.

How much power does it have?

Less than the mighty plug-in hybrid’s 782hp – in fact, without its electric motor, this Supersports develops a devilish 666hp, with 800Nm of torque shunting to the rear wheels – and this is the first rear-drive Bentley coupe since the first-gen Continental GT arrived in 2002 – via an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission.

That means it can sprint to 100km/h in 3.7 seconds, half a second slower than the hybrid, and the top speed is 310km/h (although those figures are still slightly TBC and anyway Bentley says: “More important that the headline figures though, will be how the Supersports behaves dynamically”). There’s a full-length titanium exhaust, developed by Akrapovic, which Bentley says unleashes a sound that is: “extremely compelling – deep, powerful and completely authentic.” Best of all, there’s no artificial enhancement for the sound, so this is pure, uncut, undiluted V8 thunder.

What about the chassis?

There’s an electronic limited-slip diff slung between the rear wheels, which are now set 16mm further apart than on the Conti GT. There’s also a clever brake torque vectoring system and rear-wheel steering, while the stability control gets an upgraded Dynamic mode that allows a cheeky little drift now and again.

Suspension-wise, there’s the usual double-wishbone with twin-chamber air springs setup, as well as Bentley’s ‘Dynamic Ride’ system, which uses 48-volt powered active anti-roll bars, pressing down at up to 1,300Nm on the tops of the suspension to keep the body flat and level when cornering.

So, it’s like a big, fast, Citroen Xantia Activa?

Sort of, yes.

What about brakes?

Look behind the 22-inch forged alloy wheels (supplied to Bentley by Porsche racing specialist Manthey and wrapped with either Pirelli P-Zero tyres, or a new Trofeo RS performance tyre as an option) and you’ll find what Bentley claims to be the larges automotive braking system in the world – 440 mm Carbon-Silicon-Carbide (CSiC) discs on the front axle, clamped by 10-piston calipers, and 410 mm discs with four-piston calipers at the rear – fitted as standard. Calipers are black as standard, with a red-painted option available.

Meanwhile, there’s a carbon roof panel (replacing the standard aluminium one), a lower front bumper with an integrated splitter and winglets, new side sills, a rear diffuser, and a fixed rear spoiler, all of which add up to an extra 300kg of downforce at high speeds.

All of those changes, says Bentley, add up to a car that can corner approximately 30 per cent quicker than a Continental GT Speed, with up to 1.3g peak lateral force.

Does it have a stripped-out and caged interior?

Errr, no. This is a Bentley after all, darling, although there has been some more weight saving in the rear of the cabin. In that there is no rear of the cabin anymore – the back seats have been deleted and replaced by a wraparound carbon-fibre tub, and even the rear stereo speakers have been removed to save weight, with the sound system being recalibrated to focus only on the front of the cabin. There’s also less in the way of sound insulation, and – hurrah – some of the electronic driver aids have been deleted too.

Up front, there are new, lighter sports seats, still with 11-way electric adjustment and heating, of course, and you face a mixture of carbon-fibre, leather, and Dinamica suede.

How many is Bentley going to make?

Just 500, each with an individually numbered plaque, and in one of 24 colour options, although of course Bentley is encouraging customers to go much further than that in personalising the Supersports via the company’s ‘Mulliner’ bespoke programme. You can even have – shock! – go-faster stripes… Pretty cool for a car called Mildred.

I beg your pardon? Mildred?

Yes, when developing the Supersports, Bentley needed a code name for the project, and settled on Mildred, named after Mildred Mary Petre. Born in 1895, she was a record breaker on land, sea and in the air as a racing driver, a powerboat racer and a pilot. In 1929, she drove a Bentley 4½ Litre around the Montlhery circuit in France, solo, for 24 hours. In so doing, she averaged almost 90 mph and established a new endurance record – a phenomenal achievement by today’s standards but even more incredible in the 1920s.

This new Supersports follows an incredible lineage, starting with the 1925 model based on the Bentley 3 Litre, which was the first model from the company capable of exceeding 100mph (160km/h). Only 18 of those were made. Later, Supersports included a 2009 two-seat variant of the Continental GT coupe, and another in 2017 with a 710hp version of the mighty turbocharged W12 engine.

Bentley’s Chairman and CEO, Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser, said: “The new Supersports is more than just the most driver-focused Bentley yet. It signifies a return to Bentley making more extreme cars – ones that combine extraordinary breadth of ability with true driver engagement, while remaining pieces of automotive artwork unique and bespoke to each customer. Bentley has always thrived when revealing a more daring side, and the new Supersports is a statement of our intent while celebrating 100 years of the name. This is the first project developed from start-to-finish since I joined Bentley Motors, and I’m proud of our team and the speed at which we’ve created a car so different to the GT on which it’s based.”

When can I buy one?

Well, you’ll need to be quick as this Supersports has ‘sold out’ written all over it. There’ll be an official world premiere in Dubai in January, and order books will open in March. If you have to ask how much it is, you can’t afford it.