Bentley is engaged in a never-ending battle to balance classic luxury coach-building and modern automobile manufacturing.

The luxury automaker not only has to keep up with changing technology, consumer taste and industry standards, it must also consistently deliver the old world-inspired sophistication that its known for. The automotive industry’s move towards electrification adds another challenge — one Bentley is also taking on with its Beyond 100 initiative to become a fully electric brand by 2030 and electrified versions of all its products on offer by 2023.

Bentley first tested the electrified waters in 2019 with the hybrid version of the Bentayga SUV. Now it’s time for the Flying Spur, a full-size luxury sedan that has historically been paired with either a decadent W12 engine or a spirited V8.

The automaker swapped in a V6-centric hybrid powertrain in an effort to prove that a Bentley is more than just a boisterous power plant. The upshot: the Bentley Flying Spur Hybrid is an uncharacteristic bump in the rocky road towards the future.

Nuts and bolts

Beneath the bonnet of the Bentley Flying Spur Hybrid is the first V6 to be found in a Bentley sedan in 64 years, specifically a 2.9-liter twin-turbo power plant that gins up 410 horsepower on its own. This is paired with a 134-horsepower electric motor that sits between the engine and the 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

With everything working in unison, the Flying Spur Hybrid boasts an output of 536 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque, sending it to all four wheels and leaping from 0 to 60 in 4.1 seconds. This is just a tenth of a second slower than the V8, for those keeping score.

To put this in perspective, the W12 Flying Spur can muster up 626 horsepower and sprint to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds. It can also sail to 207 mph, while the 542-horsepower V8 can top out at 198 mph. The new hybrid is limited to 177 mph. All of this is academic for those who live sans a handy unrestricted stretch of autobahn, but it does collectively paint a picture of a car struggling to meet an established standard, not exceed expectations.

Batteries and modes

Along with the e-motor, new components include an 18.0-kWh battery and a level 2 J1772 charging port, which Bentley states can be topped up in two and a half hours. It’s good for about 21 miles of all-electric cruising and gives the Flying Spur a solid 46 combined MPGe, a far cry from its other, thirstier iterations. The extra port and the “Hybrid” badging are the only things that betray that this Flying Spur differs from any other.

Like other Bentley vehicles, there is a selection of modes that influence driving dynamics, determining the gentleness or sportiness of various systems. With the new hybrid setup, a new, separate set of modes are added for drivers to adjust the behavior of the powertrain: EV Drive, Hybrid and Hold.

The Flying Spur Hybrid …read more

https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/04/2022-bentley-flying-spur-hybrid-review-forecast/