- New 740-hp, hybrid-boosted, twin-turbo V8 takes over from 6.0-liter W12
- Bentley says new hybrid powertrain will offer a 50-mile EV range
- Non-hybrid V8 will also be axed along with the W12 in next few months
We’ll be donning our black armbands this summer when the final example of Bentley’s 6.0-liter W12 engine is slotted between a pair of shock towers. But the good news is that the Brit luxury brand is replacing it with a hybrid V8 that makes even more power.
Bentley announced its Ultra Performance Hybrid powertrain that will soon be fitted to all three model lines: Bentayga SUV, Continental coupe and convertible, and Flying Spur sedan. The release was light on detail but you can bet your organ stop air vent controller that it’s another take on the VW Group plug-in hybrid twin-turbo V8 fitted to machines like the Porsche Cayenne and new Lamborghini Urus SE.
Related: Bentley Batur Convertible By Mulliner Is An Ode To The W12
Bentley says it churns out a barrel-chested 740 hp (750 PS), which makes it the most powerful engine ever fitted to a road-going Bentley production car, and 90 hp (91PS) stouter than the old W12. Sounds pretty tasty, too, judging from what we can hear in this video clip of the engine being revved up.
While we don’t yet have an exact torque figure, the brand has confirmed that it will be a “four-figure” number, which means it will be at least 1,000 Nm (738 lb-ft). Bentley also promises that the engine’s torque peak will be available over a wider area of the rev range than the W12’s was.
More details, presumably including battery size, will be released in the coming weeks. Bentley does say the PHEV powertrain will allow a 50-mile (80 km) electric range – though it didn’t specify which model this applied to. It could be the relatively lightweight (but still heavy) Continental because Lamborghini only quotes a 37-mile (60 km) range for the new Urus hybrid.
You’ve still got a couple of months to grab a W12-powered Bentley or non-hybrid V8 model from the brand’s dealer network, but after that, it’s electric assistance all the way. Not full electric power, though. Bentley recently revealed it was pushing back its EV plans in response to a slowdown in demand for electric cars across the industry.
