Bentley Replacing W12 With 'Ultra Performance' V8 Hybrid Making More Than 740 HP

Photo: Bentley

After building more than 105,000 units over the past two decades, Bentley is ending production of its gamechanging twin-turbo 6.0-liter W12 engine this summer. Just yesterday the British automaker showed off the Batur convertible, which will be one of the last applications of the W12, and now Bentley has unveiled the powertrain that will replace the twelve-cylinder motor. Bentley is calling it an “Ultra Performance Hybrid” that uses a V8 engine to be “the most dynamic, most responsive and most efficient” powertrain the company has ever made.

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It seems output hasn’t been finalized yet, as Bentley only says the V8 hybrid will have “more than” 740 horsepower. The press release says this is “the highest power output ever offered in a Bentley,” as the Batur also had 740 hp from its W12 — if the hybrid has even 1 hp more, I guess Bentley can claim that. That’s at least 90 horsepower more than the W12 made in its most-powerful Speed specification. Bentley also says the hybrid will have “four-figure torque,” though it’s unclear if that’s talking about newton-meters or pound-feet.

Photo: Bentley

This V8 hybrid will also have more than 50 miles of electric range, nearly triple that of the existing Flying Spur and Bentayga hybrids that use a V6 engine. It’s likely the Bentley setup is very similar to that of the new Porsche Panamera Turbo E-Hybrid, which has 670 hp and a range of about 40 miles from its twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8, electric motor and 25.9-kWh battery pack. Bentley says the powertrain will use “electrocharging” to provide its higher performance, but we have no further details.

Bentley didn’t provide a sound clip under embargo, but the release does go into a bit of detail on how we can expect this new powertrain to sound:

The character of the new engine is also previewed today, with the release of an engine sound clip that reveals an exquisite combination of cross-plane bass with a free-revving growl. This represents one end of the audio spectrum offered by the powertrain; the polar opposite to the absolute silence the system will offer in electric mode.

The V8 hybrid will debut with the facelifted Continental GT that’s due later this summer, with an updated Flying Spur to follow suit shortly thereafter. While the Bentayga is unlike to receive a big facelift — it already did a couple years ago — it’ll get this new hybrid setup too.