Bentley, the British luxury automotive marque that’s done swimmingly since it came under the stewardship of the Volkswagen Group in 1998, is set to reinvigorate its Flying Spur limousine when the name goes into its next generation in 2019. With a sharper design that’ll put some distance between it and the Continental GT, the new Flying Spur will also enjoy changes under the skin, the kind vital to ensure it’s continued existence and relevance in the industry.
The company might be enjoying huge successes off the Bentayga SUV (the first-ever electrified Bentley), but the Flying Spur is the second most popular model in the range, and has been favoured in critical markets like China since its introduction. As such, it’s hardly a reach to make the assumption that the Flying Spur would be the second Bentley to receive a plug-in hybrid powertrain, though no confirmation has been offered by the company.
“There’s two aspects that drive electrification. One is compliance with regional standards, and the other is being competitive. In terms of compliance, that will lead us down one direction. Obviously Bentayga is our highest-volume car, so that was the first we had to hybridise. The next volume car is probably going to be the saloon car, so if you wanted a second car just for compliance, then that would normally be the next selection.” — Adrian Hallmark, CEO, Bentley Motors Limited
However, Autocar has reported that insurance documents of a development car currently prowling around the UK confirms that not only is a plug-in hybrid Flying Spur being prepared, but it’s revealed its powertrain too. And surprise surprise, it doesn’t share a 3.0-litre V6 and electric motor setup from cars like the Volkswagen Touareg. Instead, it’s got the 2.9-litre V6 setup from the Porsche Panamera 4 E-Hybrid.
Apparently, the smaller V6 mill was chosen due to its capability of providing a higher maximum output over the bigger 3.0-litre. As such, the Flying Spur PHEV is expected to provide more punch than the 340kW/700Nm that the same powertrain presently provides in the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid (though that tuned-up setup will eventually find its way into a hotter Panamera in the future).
Should the Bentley Flying Spur PHEV utilise the same 14.1kWh battery pack as the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid, expect to see a 50km all-electric driving range (which will be great in town), and an electric top-speed of 140km/h. When it arrives sometime next year, expect the new-generation Bentley Flying Spur to pack the usual V8 and W12 petrol mills first, before we see the V6 plug-in hybrid model later in its life cycle. A ‘Speed’ performance-focused variant will debut sometime after that, and make share a higher-powered motor from the Continental GT Speed that will debut before it.
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