Bentley has a brand new Continental GT coming subsequent month, however it gained’t arrive with the gas-only 8- or 12-cylinder engines seen in years previous. The fourth-generation automobile will get Bentley’s new Extremely Hybrid Efficiency powertrain, a plug-in hybrid system that delivers large energy from a V8 mixed with an electrical motor.
The automaker claims 771 horsepower and round 738 pound-feet of torque from the electrified powertrain, saying that it’ll make the brand new GT “essentially the most highly effective and most dynamically succesful Bentley street automobile within the firm’s 105-year historical past.” For reference, the present GT’s W12 engine produces 650 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque, propelling the automobile to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds. The present V8 makes 542 horsepower and 568 pound-feet of torque. Bentley didn’t give acceleration numbers for the brand new mannequin, however with greater than 100 further horsepower and greater than 70 further pound-feet of torque over the W12, it ought to be noticeably faster. Bentley additionally claims the Continental GT may have 50 miles of electric-only vary and carbon dioxide emissions of underneath 50 grams per kilometer.
Energy will proceed to undergo all 4 wheels together with torque vectoring and an digital limited-slip differential. Bentley may even embrace extra trick options comparable to four-wheel steering and its 48-volt digital energetic anti-roll management.
The automaker might proceed providing a fuel V8 as an entry level to the road, however hasn’t confirmed it both approach. The Continental GT contains a 3rd of Bentley’s total gross sales, with virtually 100,000 models offered in its greater than 20-year run in the marketplace. That reputation is mirrored within the variety of GT variants Bentley provides, although we don’t but know the way and the place the hybrid will probably be positioned within the GT catalog. Costs will doubtless climb a bit to begin round $250,000 and will attain the mid-$300,000 vary on the prime.
