Bentley has posted a behind-the-scenes video shedding light on the stunt it pulled in the Ryfylke Tunnel on April 14, earning its new Continental GT Speed generation the title of the world’s fastest car below sea level.
The company took a fourth-gen Continental GT Speed to the 14.5-kilometer (9-mile) long tunnel in Norway to attempt driving it from one end to the other as fast as possible. The tunnel lies 292 m (958 ft.) below sea level and is considered the planet’s deepest road.
It is also only 10 m (32.8 ft.) wide, making such a drive-through potentially dangerous. Bentley had spent more than a year planning and preparing, studying the forces that may affect the car during the drive using computer modeling. It also had to obtain a clearance for the stunt from the local government and from the police, because it involved blocking the entire stretch of the road and exceeding the allowed speed limit.
The car was equipped with bucket seats, a roll cage and 22-inch wheels shod in Pirelli tires for the “underwater” race. It managed to hit a top speed of 335 km/h (208 mph) in the tunnel, taking only 33 seconds to get there.