Hybrid Bentley in the Making

Luxury car manufacturer Bentley is adapting its production to the current development of the automotive sector and will soon introduce a hybrid model that would be obviously aimed at cutting fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. The new engine will be fitted on the first car in 2011, autoexpress.co.uk wrote in an article published today.

Initial estimates are pointing to emissions figures of 240 grams per kilometer, as compared to 396 g/km on the current Continental model. The output could be further reduced with the help of a light aluminum body, bringing figures down to 225 g/km.

The future Bentley Continental is going to be released, according to early reports on the matter, in 2011. A new 4.2-liter V8 turbodiesel engine developing 375 hp (280kW) will represent the most important addition to the engine range, together with a an upgraded variant of a W12 unit developing around 580 hp (432kW) and 515 lb-ft (697Nm) of torque. The top models, and count here the Speed flavors, will probably get 650 hp (485kW) engines.

"I would rather derive, the next Continental coupe from a future Audi A5 than let the company go under. In that case, a twin-turbo V-6 might be an appropriate engine," Bentley Chairman and CEO Franz-Josef Paefgen stated back in March emphasizing that the future Continental might share some parts with an Audi model.

The GT Coupe is scheduled to arrive in early 2011, the Flying Spur sedan one year later, the GTC Convertible in 2013 and the popular Speed variants in early 2015.