Durheimer Says V12 Diesel Is 'Good Enough for Bentley'

Oh how times change! Not so long ago, it used to be the case that no gentleman would be caught dead without a big V12 under the bonnet of his Bentley, and that diesel was the fuel of farmers, the army and... the devil. Yet here we are in 2011, and the British luxury mark is about to introduce a twin-turbo V8 that’s being developed in partnership with Audi.

But what else is Audi good at making? TDI! Yet late last year, it was rumored Bentley was dropping the idea of building a hyperluxury diesel. That’s also changed, as What Car? reports demand will result in not only an oil-burner, but also a hybrid Bentley.

So what’s changed? Well, the former chief Frank-Josef Paefgen has been replaced by Wolfgang Durheimer, and the new top brass says the next diesel engines are “good enough for Bentleys”. He also says Bentley should become the VW Group's centre for the future development of 12-cylinder engines.

We wouldn’t really mind if say the Audi A8 used the engine out of a Bentley!

VW brought Durheimer over from Porsche, where he oversaw not only the development of he Cayenne, but also the introduction of diesels and hybrids. So if there’s somebody who can overcome diesel anxiety in a luxury brand and boost sales like nobody’s business, it’s him.

The idea of a big V12 diesel might seem farfetched, but such has already been offered on the Audi Q7 V12 TDI. Durheimer says there’s resistance to change even within the company but he thinks he can deal with it, explaining that modern diesels are almost at the same level of refinement as their gasoline ‘rivals’.