Bentley Supersports Meets Travis Pastrana in Full Send, a Film That Turns the Crewe Factory into a Playground of Controlled Chaos

Travis Pastrana, the stunt driving icon, arrived at Bentley’s headquarters in Crewe, England, this past September, with a sense of anticipation. For three days, he was able to put the pedal to the metal in a specially rigged Supersports, the first of its kind, tearing it up across campus and the Dream Factory on the real factory grounds, with no closed racetracks or imported sets.

The Supersports is a rare beast of a rear-wheel drive car that can hold its own in terms of performance; no hybrid assistance is required with its 666 PS V8 engine, while its chassis has been modified to handle high-speed shenanigans. Throw in some aerodynamics to keep things stable even when you’re pushing the limits, and you’ve got a car that can move, but it’s limited to just 500 units.

To give Pastrana some extra tools, the experts attached a hydraulic handbrake next to the steering wheel, nicknamed Mildred, after a Bentley legend from many years ago. With this, he could lock up the rear axle and start those sharp slides in an instant. Since the team was adjusting the car along the way, they could even alter the throttle and brakes at the same time, allowing Pastrana to do all sorts of weird things with the car, such as hold perfect steady burnouts or make microscopic tweaks while drifting.

Pastrana was able to put the car through its paces, carving up service roads in long, flowing drifts, snapping around corners, and executing doughnuts in broad expanses, all while looking and feeling like he was driving a standard Supersports car on steroids. But, as usual, he brought the precision and control that made his Gymkhanas renowned, and the film catches all of that, but this time in the confines of a working luxury car factory. Not to add, a couple of Bentley’s vintage cars make a brief appearance, including the Le Mans-winning Speed 8, Continental GT3 racers, and some old pre-war Blowers chilling in the background, providing an insight into Bentley’s history. There’s also a camouflaged prototype of an electric Bentley Urban SUV and the EXP15 concept, giving people a peek of what’s to come.

Pastrana later stated unequivocally that he expected raw power but received an even better surprise: the car turned out to be a real blast to drive, delivering that perfect balance of refinement and serious capability without having to mess with the clutch or any other deep modification stuff, as he got exactly what he wanted.