An engine with only six cylinders in a Bentley? Some fans of the British luxury brand are likely to turn up their noses. You still expect powerful eight or even twelve-cylinder engines from the carmaker from Crewe. But legal requirements and political pressure also force those responsible for Bentley to electrify their model range step by step. The Bentayga luxury SUV has long been available as a plug-in hybrid – this variant is even proving to be a bestseller in some markets.
Now, with the Flying Spur, another Bentley model is being energized. Technically, the Flying Spur is closely related to the Porsche Panamera – and the Porsche is already in its second generation in three plug-in hybrid versions. Bentley is only launching the Flying Spur Hybrid as a particularly powerful version. The British luxury sedan is powered by the well-known 2.9-liter V6 turbo with 416 hp (306 kW) and 550 Nm. An electric motor with 100 kW (136 PS) and 400 Nm hidden in the transmission tunnel increases the system output of the plug-in hybrid Flying Spur to an impressive 544 PS (400 kW) and 750 Nm torque – almost 100 PS more than the current Bentley Bentayga Hybrid .
Only 40 kilometers purely electrically
From a standing start, the 5.20-meter-long all-wheel-drive sedan accelerates to 100 km / h in 4.3 seconds and reaches a top speed of 285 km / h. Due to the small battery (14.1 kWh), the competitor of the plug-ins from the Audi A8, BMW 7 Series and Mercedes S-Class only achieves a range of 40 kilometers purely electrically. Nevertheless, thanks to the combustion engine and electric motor, the total range of the Flying Spur Hybrid is almost on par with a diesel model at around 700 kilometers.
Visually, the noble British model with plug differs from its pure combustion brothers with eight and twelve cylinders only through the second fuel filler flap and the hybrid lettering available on request. As with the Bentayga, the V6 hybrid is likely to become the entry-level model for the Flying Spur.
Europe and Switzerland have to wait
However, the price has not yet been determined. In addition, those interested in Switzerland still have to be patient. Because in its press release Bentley writes that the Flying Spur Hybrid can be ordered in most markets – with the exception of the 27 EU countries, Great Britain and Switzerland. In Crewe they do not want to answer a question why this is the case. And so it should definitely be 2022 for us, until the first hybrid flying spur are delivered.