"It had been nearly three-quarters of a century since a Bentley turned a wheel in anger on the famed Circuit de la Sarthe, but in 2003 the #7 car made Bentley’s return official by winning Le Mans outright. It took just two years of racing for the company from Crewe to learn important lessons about handling and aerodynamics with their new cars. Despite being in the final year of the racing program, Bentley incorporated all of their recently-acquired knowledge from the earlier cars into the new 2003 Speed 8, which was essentially a new car from the ground up. Retained is the 4-liter Audi-sourced V8 engine (Bentley and Audi share a corporate parent), producing well in excess of 600 horsepower. The new design and proven engine were more than enough to propel the #7 car to victory in the hands of Guy Smith, Dindo Capello, and Tom Kristensen."—Official description[1]
The 2003 Bentley #7 Team Bentley Speed 8 - abbreviated as "Bentley #7 Spd 8" - is an LMGTP race car by Bentley.
It appears in Forza Motorsport (2005) and all subsequent Xbox 360 Motorsport titles, as well as in Forza Motorsport 6 and in Forza Motorsport (2023).
Synopsis[]
A complete overhaul of the EXP Speed 8 that competed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2001 and 2002, the Speed 8 was the last hurrah for Bentley's short lived LMP program. With 2003 being the last year of Bentley's planned three-year campaign, it was decided that the 2003 race was win or bust and that the car should have a complete retooling based on the things the team had learned over the previous two seasons. The only thing that the EXP and non-EXP car share in common is their Audi R8 sourced V8 engines, which has been bored out to 4.0L.[2]
The first race for the #7 and its sister car, the #8, would not be that year's Le Mans, and instead would be the 12 Hours of Sebring in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) as a way to give the cars some competitive testing. The race wouldn't get off to the best start, as a rules infraction during qualifying would force both cars to start from the back of the grid. Both cars would manage to battle back however, with the #7, driven by Tom Kristensen, Guy Smith, and Rinaldo Capello, finishing in 4th, while the #8 would manage a podium finish of 3rd, only 4 laps behind two R8s.[3]
At Le Mans, opposite to Sebring, things would get off to a brilliant start for both Bentleys, with the #7 claiming pole in qualifying by over 2 seconds from the #8 which would join it on the front row of the grid. Both cars would end up never conceding these positions, with the #7 taking the win over the #8 by 2 laps and finishing 5 laps ahead of the 3rd place R8. This was Bentley's 5th overall win at Le Mans and their first in over 70 years, with their last win coming all the way back in 1930. While Audi's 3 year winning streak at Le Mans would be ended, due to Bentley and Audi both being subsidiaries of the Volkswagen Group, the streak of VW Group Le Mans wins would still continue until the Peugeot 908's victory in 2009. Also, as the Bentleys did not compete in the same class as the Audis (LMGTP for the former and LMP900 for the latter), Audi's Le Mans win streak in the LMP900 class would continue until the two classes were merged into LMP1 a year later.[4]
Statistics[]
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|
Speed 7.6 Accel 8.9
Braking 9.1
Corner 9.1
Base Rarity 10.0
|
P1 |
|---|---|---|
Unlock Requirements
North America:
missing data
Rarity: 10.0
Europe:
missing data
Rarity: 10.0
Asia:
missing data
Rarity: 10.0 | ||
Performance
Value: ? CR
Speed:
Top Speed: missing data
Acceleration:
0-60 mph (0-97 km/h): missing data
0-100 mph (0-161 km/h): missing data
Braking:
60-0 mph (97-0 km/h): missing data 100-0 mph (161-0 km/h): missing data
Lateral Gs:
60 mph (97 km/h): missing data
120 mph (193 km/h): missing data | ||
|
Speed 6.6 Acceleration 8.9
Braking 9.9
Handling 9.7
Base Rarity 10.0
|
R1 |
|---|---|---|
Unlock Requirements
North America:
Win the Endurance Races, Silverstone Class A Grand Prix event to unlock this car for purchase in the dealership. for ? CR.
Rarity: ?
Europe:
Win the Endurance Races, Silverstone Class A Grand Prix event to unlock this car for purchase in the dealership. for ? CR.
Rarity: ?
Asia:
Win the Endurance Races, Silverstone Class A Grand Prix event to unlock this car for purchase in the dealership. for 350,000 CR.
Rarity: 10.0 | ||
Performance & Body Style
Body Style: Prototype
Value: ? CR
Speed:
Top Speed: missing data
Acceleration:
0-60 mph (0-97 km/h): missing data
0-100 mph (0-161 km/h): missing data
Braking:
60-0 mph (97-0 km/h): missing data 100-0 mph (161-0 km/h): missing data
Lateral Gs:
60 mph (97 km/h): missing data
120 mph (193 km/h): missing data | ||
|
Speed 7.9 Handling 8.4
Acceleration 8.9
Launch 7.6
Braking 8.4
|
R1 938 |
|---|---|---|
Unlock Requirements
Car Dealer:
Purchase from the car dealer for 1,500,000 CR | ||
Performance & Body Style
Body Style: Prototype 1
Value: 1,500,000 CR
Speed:
Top Speed: missing data
Acceleration:
0-60 mph (0-97 km/h): missing data
0-100 mph (0-161 km/h): missing data
Braking:
60-0 mph (97-0 km/h): missing data 100-0 mph (161-0 km/h): missing data
Lateral Gs:
60 mph (97 km/h): missing data
120 mph (193 km/h): missing data | ||
|
Speed 9.6 Handling 9.5
Acceleration 9.6
Launch 8.4
Braking 9.5
|
R1 971 |
|---|---|---|
Unlock Requirements
Car Dealer:
Purchase from the car dealer for 2,200,000 CR | ||
Performance & Body Style
Body Style: Prototype 1
Value: 2,200,000 CR
Speed:
Top Speed: 214.1 mph (344.5 km/h)
Acceleration:
0-60 mph (0-97 km/h): 2.800 secs.
0-100 mph (0-161 km/h): 6.100 secs.
Braking:
60-0 mph (97-0 km/h): 88.0 ft (26.8 m) 100-0 mph (161-0 km/h): 213.2 ft (65 m)
Lateral Gs:
60 mph (97 km/h): 1.37 g
120 mph (193 km/h): 1.93 g | ||
|
Speed 7.6 Handling 8.5
Acceleration 9.4
Braking 8.4
|
P 977 |
|---|---|---|
Unlock Requirements
Car Dealer:
Purchase from the car dealer for 1,200,000 CR | ||
Performance & Division
Division: Endurance Prototypes
Value: 1,200,000 CR
Speed:
Top Speed: 204.6 mph (329.2 km/h)
Acceleration:
0-60 mph (0-97 km/h): 3.600 secs.
0-100 mph (0-161 km/h): 5.900 secs.
Braking:
60-0 mph (97-0 km/h): 83.1 ft (25.3 m) 100-0 mph (161-0 km/h): 196.4 ft (59.9 m)
Lateral Gs:
60 mph (97 km/h): 1.64 g
120 mph (193 km/h): 2.28 g | ||
|
Speed 6.1 Braking 9.4
Handling 9.6
Acceleration 7.9
|
P 941 |
|---|---|---|
Unlock Requirements
Car Dealer:
Can be purchased from the Car Dealer for 341,000 CR | ||
Performance & Division
Division: Early LMP
Value: 341,000 CR
Speed:
Top Speed: 200.8 mph (323.1 km/h)
1/4 Mile: 10.500 secs.
Acceleration:
0-60 mph (0-97 km/h): 3.600 secs.
0-100 mph (0-161 km/h): 5.920 secs.
Braking:
60-0 mph (97-0 km/h): 78.0 ft (23.8 m) 100-0 mph (161-0 km/h): 191.2 ft (58.3 m)
Lateral Gs:
60 mph (97 km/h): 1.61 g
120 mph (193 km/h): 2.21 g | ||
Conversions[]
- No conversions available.
Trivia[]
- In Forza Motorsport (2023), prior to Update 21, it was valued at 357,000 CR.
Gallery[]
Thumbnail
Promotional[]
Bentley Speed 8, Audi R18 e-tron
References[]
- ↑ "Forza Motorsport 4 - Cars" . forzamotorsport.net
- ↑ "Bentley Speed 8" . wikipedia.org . Retrieved 07-14-2025.
- ↑ "2003 12 Hours of Sebring" . wikipedia.org . Retrieved 07-14-2025.
- ↑ "2003 24 Hours of Le Mans" . wikipedia.org . Retrieved 07-14-2025.