Wolfgang Durheimer has been at the head of Bentley (and the Bugatti brand) since June 1, 2014, after a short period as chief development officer at Audi. His background is, at a glance, a fruitful one, having worked for the likes of BMW and Porsche.
And if it weren’t for Durheimer, today we wouldn’t have sacred behemoths such as the Bugatti Chiron and Bentley Bentayga. The next big challenge for Durheimer, however, isn’t speed or overlanding capability. It’s implementing plug-in hybrid technology in future Bentley models, Continental GT included.
Speaking to Automotive News, the chief executive office of the British automaker let it slip that “the GT plug-in hybrid will use a V6 engine, and its power output will match that of the V8.” What that means is at least 500 horsepower and a powertrain set up for performance rather than fuel efficiency. If you would rather otherwise, the Prius Prime is the car for you.
Then there’s the Bentayga plug-in hybrid, which is expected to become a reality in 2018 according to the cited report. After its debut, the next generation of the Continental GT will go plug-in hybrid after the launch of the W12 model but before the launch of the V8. In other words, the grand tourer will go eco-friendly sometime in the second half of 2018 or in early 2019.
“PHEV sometimes is mentioned as a transitional technology - it will be out of our way pretty soon,”Wolfgang Durheimer told Automotive News. “From my point of view, plug-in hybrid technology provides the best of two worlds.” He also added that “the combustion engine will follow us for a long time,” which is reassuring news considering the rising demand for electrified vehicles.
On that note, BridgeToGantry caught on film what appears to be a test mule of the upcoming Continental GT PHEV. Listen very closely to the sound the prototype produces when it passes by. That’s definitely a six-cylinder I’m hearing. It remains to be seen, however, if it’s the 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 from the Porsche Panamera or the 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 from the 4S variant.
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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