Bentley is a company with a deep heritage in motorsports, but these days the British automaker doesn't have much of a racing presence to speak of. The last time it seriously competed in any form of motor racing was after the turn of the millennium with the Speed 8, which wasn't even remotely based on any of its production vehicles. That all started to change, however, when Bentley unveiled the Continental GT3 concept at the Paris Motor Show a few months ago.

The Flying B marque has big plans for the Continental racer, starting by fielding the competition-spec coupe in GT3 racing series around the world. But it isn't stopping there. Eyeing the success which rivals like Ferrari, Porsche, Maserati and sister-company Lamborghini have achieved with their own spec racing series, Bentley reportedly plans on launching one of its own, allowing professional and amateur racers alike to compete against each other in identical versions of the Continental GT3. A road-going, street-legal version, as previously reported, could also be in the works, catapulting Bentley from the luxury realm into more extreme performance.