Wednesday 8th May 2024

Bentley confirms 750hp for new hybrid V8

Sad to see the W12 go? Us too - but Bentley reckons its replacement is even better...

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Nobody has yet raved about the V6 hybrid Bentleys. Where the W12 may have won you over with its titanic power, or the V8 with its snarling soundtrack, the electrified Crewes missiles haven’t hit the mark just yet. Not that powerful, not boasting a great range, not that brilliant to listen to. But that all looks set to change very soon with confirmation of a new V8 Ultra Performance Hybrid for the entire Bentley line-up. 

And when Bentley says Ultra Performance, you know it’s going to be something serious. So power is going to be above 750hp (i.e., more than any W12 ever), torque will be a four-figure number of newton metres ‘over a wider plateau’, and there will be 50 miles of EV-only range. Drastic improvements on the V6, basically. With CO2 set to be less than 50g/km as well. Bentley suggests that this setup combines an ‘incredible powerful combustion engine with advanced hybrid technology’; we’ll assume it’s related to that seen in the current Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid, all 739hp and 700lb ft of it, which is a huge achievement as far as PHEVs with a decent range and awesome performance. 

Bentley’s aware that numbers aren’t the be all and end all, however; engine character is a huge part of why people buy Bentleys, and surely part of the reason why the V6 hasn’t been universally adored. To whet the appetite, a sound preview has already been released - it’s definitely a V8 alright! Even compared to the Porsche, the gurgles and growls have been amplified. Bentley reckons the new powertrain offers a ‘seamless fusion of electric luxury with supercar performance.’

We’re told to expect more details on the PHEV in due course (and to get the final W12s and non-hybrid V8s while they’re here); it seems likely that the Ultra Performance Hybrid will go into the Continental GT first. The Bentayga and Flying Spur already have plug-in models, the old W12 was most keenly associated with the GT and, well, there was a test mule on the M25 last week. A near-800hp V8 would be just the thing for a Continental GT to take on the new Aston Martin Vanquish and similarly configured Mercedes-AMG GT 63. More news as we have it.

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• New Bentley Batur Convertible gets 750hp W12
• Bentley Flying Spur | PH Used Buying Guide

[sidesauce]

Now this I could happily live with...

[dunnoreally]

Menacing. It almost looks like something out of an early Shinya Tsukamoto movie.

[ducnick]

Looking at those photos this is the sort of engine you want a big plastic cover over.

[ManyMotors]

Lots of components but the idea, similar to other manufacturers, is what the market wants.

[GTRene]

a V8 with such power, whats not to like, ok you keep the hood closed, its a bit messy with all the tech I guess for the environment, for which they had to make many more parts and stuf to get there, which cost probably way more bad for the environment then what it helps netto, but hey, its how they rule.

[nismo48]

That's a lot of associated parts, collectively it looks an amazing piece

[NGK210]

Incredible.
Hopefully its impressive stats will be complemented by impressive reliability.
Is it direct-only injection?
Direct and port injection?
Or port-only injection?

[Skaben]

Wow, that looks complicated!

[pcws1979]

Plug in Hybrid's in cars designed as continent crosses don't work, after a couple of hundred miles you have most probably drained the battery and all you doing is using the combustion engine to lug around the batteries, making the car heavier then before in the process, making the combustion engine less efficient in all areas. I would of preferred a mild hybris with 600-620 bhp.

[D4rez]

pcws1979 said:

Plug in Hybrid's in cars designed as continent crosses don't work, after a couple of hundred miles you have most probably drained the battery and all you doing is using the combustion engine to lug around the batteries, making the car heavier then before in the process, making the combustion engine less efficient in all areas. I would of preferred a mild hybris with 600-620 bhp.

They didn’t have a choice and most of the time these are doing 5 miles around Cheshire. Wouldn’t worry about it

[raspy]

What a waste. They should just skip the PHEV and make a high performance EV.

[NGK210]

D4rez said:

pcws1979 said:

Plug in Hybrid's in cars designed as continent crosses don't work, after a couple of hundred miles you have most probably drained the battery and all you doing is using the combustion engine to lug around the batteries, making the car heavier then before in the process, making the combustion engine less efficient in all areas. I would of preferred a mild hybris with 600-620 bhp.

They didn’t have a choice and most of the time these are doing 5 miles around Cheshire. Wouldn’t worry about it

Indeed, don’t worry about it.
Especially because similar to all PHEVs, there’ll be various self-charge / re-gen modes.

[Ron-ski]

That looks incredibly difficult to work on, it would be a nightmare in the car.

[GTRene]

Ron-ski said:

That looks incredibly difficult to work on, it would be a nightmare in the car.

I guess so, it could drive a man mad when something is getting wrong and trying to find it, let alone bringing it to the garage the hours they have to make just to get somewhere with all that stuf around the engine.

[rev-erend]

Looks very heavy.