The signs are pointing to a farewell at Bentley. Fans of engines with a multitude of pistons and wild arrangement concepts must now be very strong. After 105,000 units and two decades, the 6.0-litre twin-turbo W12 is retiring this summer.
The massive power unit will be replaced by a V8 hybrid with more than 750 PS. 91 more than the W12 last spat out in the Flying Spur, for example. According to Bentley, this is the highest output ever offered in its vehicles. This powertrain is set to "define the future of Bentley" from the summer.
Gallery: Bentley Ultra Performance Hybrid V8 (2024)
What has been achieving unprecedented levels of efficiency for combustion engines in Formula 1 for a decade and is being further tested in the WEC hypercar series is increasingly finding its way into the world's road-legal high-performance sleds, such as the Lamborghini Huracán successor or the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance.
Bentley promises nothing less than the "most dynamic, responsive and efficient system in history" from this step. Presumably the kind of self-assurance that must be exuded when handling such "everyday super sports cars" on a daily basis.
The new system will build on Bentley's existing hybrid powertrains, but raise the bar even higher in terms of performance and efficiency. The purely electric range is specified as 50 miles. Four-digit torque across a broader plateau should raise the eyebrows of potential buyers. Bentley also has a figure ready for the green crowd, as the CO2 value should reach less than 50 g/km with the new unit according to the WLTP driving cycle.
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The only question that remains is how often the average Bentley driver will be travelling purely electrically, apart from the journey from the garage to the villa gate. With the overall performance of the "Ultra Performance Hybrid", as Bentley calls it, the electric motor also actively supports the V8 in order to achieve the overall performance mentioned.
Bentley intends to reveal further details about the electrified powertrain in the coming weeks. Anyone who cannot yet call a W12 their own should scrape together their loose change soon. The British are referring to the remaining examples of the W12 and V8 engines without hybrid drive that are currently still available for purchase.
Source: Bentley