2024 is a turning point for Volkswagen Group-owned Bentley Motors Limited. In production since 2003, the Continental GT will drop its trademark W12 engine in favor of electrified powerplants.
Introduced by the D2-generation Audi A8, the aforementioned engine ceases production in April 2024. The limited-run Batur is the final application of said leviathan, which develops a tremendous 740 horsepower and 738 pound-feet (make that 1,000 Nm of twist) in the Continental GT-based Batur.
The indirect successor of the W12 in Bentley's engine lineup is the Audi-Porsche V8 we all know and love, a 4.0-liter unit with massive potential. In combination with plug-in hybrid assistance, it produces 729 horsepower and 700 pound-feet (950 Nm) in the Porsche Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid.
Continental GT rides on a different platform, though, which is why the 2025 Bentley Continental GT PHEV is actually twinned with the Panamera Turbo E-Hybrid. The Zuffenhausen-based automaker quotes 670 horsepower and 686 pound-feet (980 Nm) for Porsche's third-gen Panamera. There's a punchier version due to hit dealer showrooms in 2025, a Panamera Turbo E-Hybrid with – presumably – 700-plus horses on deck.
Similar to the most powerful 2024 Porsche Panamera in production today, the forthcoming Continental GT PHEV features the fuel cap on the passenger side and the charging port door on the left rear quarter panel. Our spy photographers captured two distinct prototypes testing near the Arctic Circle, and – for the first time since Bentley started testing the new CGT – they also managed to snap a few pics of the interior.
Photo: SH Proshots
The biggest change is the E MODE button located in the vicinity of the start/stop button, with E MODE presumably standing for electric driving. Exterior styling changes are bigger still, with Bentley redesigning the taillights. Not only do said taillights stretch more into the trunk lid, but they're split, therefore enabling a larger trunk opening.
Gifted with oval exhaust finishers integrating two exits per side, the prototypes further boast sportier front bumpers than the 2024 Bentley Continental GT and Continental GTC. Regarding the camouflaged headlights, we can't tell whether the new units are inspired by the overly expensive Mulliner Batur or the barchetta-bodied Bacalar.
Even so, it's easy to see that said headlights are mounted in the bumper instead of the fenders. Prospective customers should also expect an updated infotainment system and more safety gizmos, along with a plug-in hybrid powertrain built around the Audi RS 4 Avant's 2.9-liter V6.
The Flying Spur Hybrid already uses it, and in this application, the system total output is 536 horsepower and 553 pound-feet (750 Nm). Not bad, yet six cylinders in an ultra-luxury sedan is a bit saddening and – obviously enough – off-putting. Looking at the bigger picture, Bentley has to improve its fleet-wide carbon emissions and fuel economy as the Volkswagen Group-controlled marque continues the transition to fully electric. Bentley will drop all combustion models in the first half of the 2030s as opposed to the original target of 2030.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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