Bentley North America has released the first photos and videos of its Bentayga Hybrid model. It's still a luxury SUV, one of the best in the world, but you get a lot less than you expect under the hood.
From the outside, it looks just like any other Bentayga model. However, power comes not from a massive W12, but from a turbocharged V6 with a lot of help from electricity. This kind of reminds us of the Ford plug-in hybrid SUV models.
Even though Bentley is the company that made the fastest SUV in the world and a Continental sedan that reaches 207 miles per hour, it's also looking into electricity. In a recent interview, Bentley sales and marketing board member Chris Craft revealed that all Bentley models will be hybrid by 2023. This includes the Continental GT, the Flying Spur and the Mulsanne, probably all sharing this V6 drive.
The system is basically the same as in the Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid, offering 444 horsepower (330 kW) and 516 pound-feet (700 Newton-meters) of torque, which in this case allows the Bentayga SUV to reach 62 in under six seconds. Stored under the trunk is a 17.3 kWh lithium-ion battery that provides up to 30 miles of EV range as long as you're careful with the throttle.
Charging it takes between 2.5 to 7.5 hours, depending on the outlet. And while the Bentayga Hybrid isn't anywhere near as green a Tesla Model X, this is a step in the right direction.
The interior is every bit as sumptuous as the normal Bentayga. Quite a few cows had to die to make it, but that's always been the Bentley way. Our only gripe is with the infotainment not being as cool as the latest Audi systems.
The British brand's research shows that over 30% of luxury car buyers are interested in going electric. So in 2025, they will introduce a pure plug-in. We believe it's something along the lines of Porsche's Taycan or that lovely 2-door sports car concept they showed recently.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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