Bentley stopped making the British automaker’s trademark W12 engine in April 2024. The ultimate utility of the 6.0-liter mill is the Batur Convertible, of which solely 16 will probably be produced.
Proper after Bentley launched the preliminary specs for the Extremely Efficiency Hybrid, the corporate discontinued the Continental GT V8, Continental GTC V8, and Flying Spur V8 from three areas: MEAI (the Center East, Africa, and India), the UK, and the European Union. The 4.0-liter V8 in query will soldier on as a part of the Bentayga sport utility automobile household, though it is not clear when stated V8 will probably be changed by a plug-in hybrid setup à la Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid.
Developed by Zuffenhausen’s Porsche and Ingolstadt’s Audi, the V8 was adopted by the British marque in 2012. Not precisely a coincidence, Bentley’s first utility was the Continental GT, adopted by the GTC and the Flying Spur. Since 2012, the British marque has offered greater than 53,000 examples of the Conti GT, Conti GTC, and Flying Spur with the Porsche-Audi 4.0L twin-turbo V8.
The V8 engine and Bentley, nevertheless, go a good distance again. Keep in mind the L-series V8 developed within the Nineteen Fifties when Rolls-Royce was working the present? Initially a 6.2-liter mill, the L-series V8 was enlarged to six,750 cubic centimeters in 1970 by rising the stroke from 3.6 to three.9 inches. The L was canned in 2020 with the Mulsanne ultra-luxury sedan. Its substitute is the Flying Spur, which is technically much like the Continental GT because of the Volkswagen Group’s MSB platform. The MSB additionally underpins the third-generation Porsche Panamera.
Photograph: Bentley
Turning our consideration again to the modern-day V8, the corporate is not prepared to verify when the 4.0-liter engine will probably be discontinued in different elements of the world. Contemplating that Company Common Gas Economic system requirements in america require an industry-wide fleet common of almost 49 mpg (4.8 l/100 km) for passenger vehicles and lightweight vans in mannequin yr 2026, we’re not going to attend lengthy.
Manufacturing of the combustion-only Continental GT V8, Continental GTC V8, and Flying Spur V8 for the aforementioned areas will come to a grinding halt quickly sufficient, with last deliveries to be carried out in June 2024. Retailer inventory is anticipated to be depleted later within the yr. This, in flip, implies that Bentley will unleash the Extremely Efficiency Hybrid within the second half of 2024 for mannequin yr 2025.
Along with the Conti GT and Flying Spur strains, the Bentayga will obtain a plug-in hybrid V8 setup as properly. The Flying Spur and Bentayga are at present accessible with plug-in hybrid V6s displacing 2.9 liters within the Flying Spur and three.0 liters within the Bentayga. Their mixed output scores are 536/456 horsepower and 553/516 pound-feet or 750/700 Nm of torque in case you favor metric models.
Come 2026, the Crewe-based automaker will provide an electrical automobile primarily based on the Premium Efficiency Electrical platform developed by Audi and Porsche. Contemplating that PPE at present underpins the Audi Q6 e-tron and second-generation Porsche Macan, we’re most actually getting an ultra-luxury SUV.
