The Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour continues to grow, with news coming from Australia that defending race winners Maranello Motorsport are set to debut a Bentley Continental GT3 in February’s around-the-clock enduro.

The Mark Coffey-owned team has purchased one of the M-Sport-built cars, with plans to debut it in the Australian GT Championship later this year at Highlands Park in New Zealand.

“We tested at a little known circuit close by to M-Sport with plenty of elevation changes and it was interesting to say the least, especially with that long nose, but it was certainly a delight to drive,” Peter Edwards said.

“M-Sport are a fantastic operation, not too dissimilar to AF Corse in their professionalism, and they had a full crew on deck to support the test and ensure I was comfortable in the car. I can’t wait to take it to Highlands.”

Edwards is likely to be among the drivers in the Bentley for the Feb. 6-8 race at Mt. Panorama, with the team also planning to enter its Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 in defense of its overall win in 2014.

The addition of the privateer Bentley adds a further marquee to Australia’s premier endurance race, which is set to also include entries from Ferrari, McLaren, Porsche, Lamborghini, Audi, Nissan and Mercedes-Benz in the GT3 class.