Lightweight Bentley, Polestar in Gran Turismo, Christmas Charity Drive, Wheel Insights podcast

Hardcore Bentley

The limited-edition Supersports is the first rear-wheel-drive Bentley in the modern history of the Continental GT name. It is only the fourth Supersports in the 100-year history of the Bentley marque.

The transformation to the Supersports involves shedding nearly 500kg to slip the sports car under the two-tonne mark, putting it closer to the BMW M3, which is a much smaller car.

Most of the weight-savings come from taking out the four-wheel-drive system and hybrid components.

The cushy rear seats have also been taken out in the transformation, and replaced by a carbon-fibre tub. The lightweight material is also used on the roof, some body parts like the front splitter and the boot spoiler.

The twin-turbo, 4-litre V8 engine in the Supersports makes 648hp and 800Nm, which is less than the 771hp and 1,000Nm of the Continental GT plug-in hybrid.

Carbon ceramic brakes, full-length titanium exhaust system and lightweight 22-inch alloy wheels are standard equipment on the car. As an option, the Supersports can be fitted with extreme Pirelli Trofeo RS tyres.

Only 500 units of the Supersports will be built and deliveries are expected to start in the beginning of 2027.

Summon auntie is coming!

The latest episode of Wheel Insights, a monthly podcast by The Straits Times, finds out more about the Parking.SG app. What started out as a digital tool to ease the work of parking wardens evolved into an app that most motorists use to pay for roadside parking.

On average, the app gets a million parking sessions a month, with fewer than half of those sessions ending early and the motorist getting a refund for the unused portion of the parking fee.

Go to str.sg/m4JY to listen to the podcast.

A new episode of the podcast is released on the third Wednesday of each month.

Friends of Classics Christmas Charity Drive

Friends of Classics, a Facebook group of car owners whose vehicles are typically 30 years old or older, is organising a Christmas Charity Drive on Dec 10.

The flag-off will be from Oasis Cafe Bistro at AA Centre at 2 Kung Chong Road. Seniors from St John’s Home for Elderly Persons will be treated to a ride through Orchard Road.

The group is looking to form a convoy of between 10 and 15 cars. Go to str.sg/7o5k

Polestar in Gran Turismo 7

Swedish car brand Polestar has become the latest electric car brand to be featured in the Gran Turismo 7 game series. It will be available in December as a free game update for the Playstation 4 and 5 consoles.

The game’s developers worked with Polestar to ensure the car’s driving dynamics are accurately replicated digitally.

This includes getting professional racing driver and sim-racer Igor Fraga to put prototype Polestar 5 vehicles through their paces on the track in real life, as well as working with the car’s engineers to ensure the dynamics of the car on Gran Turismo are faithful to the real thing.

As for the actual car, the Polestar 5 was unveiled at the IAA Mobility 2025 show in Germany in September 2025. It is pitched as a rival to the Porsche Taycan and features a new battery technology with ultra-high charging speed.

Watch the virtual car in action at str.sg/hUGL

Winter testing for VW’s joint-venture EVs

Prototypes from the joint venture between Volkswagen (VW) and Tesla rival Rivian will undergo winter testing in the beginning of 2026. Besides Volkswagen models, the prototypes will include Audi and Scout, a VW-owned America-only electric vehicle brand.

The partnership is intended to develop the next generation of software-defined vehicles that boast a high level of connectivity. This allows the cars to be updated remotely with the newest features, doing away with the need to head to a dealership’s workshop.

VW announced its partnership with Rivian in 2024, with an initial investment of US$1 billion (S$1.3 billion), and plans for an additional US$4 billion by 2026.

Various brands under the Volkswagen Group have inked partnerships with electric carmakers in a bid to speed up development of the technology. This includes deals with Chinese carmakers Xpeng and SAIC to develop cars primarily for China.