Bentley boss promises ‘fireworks’ before EV transition

Bentley boss Adrian Hallmark has promised the British luxury brand will deliver fireworks as it opts out of internal combustion engine (ICE) powered models between now and 2030.

Hallmark confirmed the company’s cornerstone 6.0-litre W12 had less than five years to run and that even the brand’s more frugal V8 and new twin-turbo V6 plug-in hybrid powertrains have the chequered flag in their sights.

“There's no doubt that within five years, that [W12] engine will not exist,” the Bentley boss told carsales via a video conference recently.

“Now that’s a sad statement, but faced with this, and with the ever-growing knowledge about the impact on climate... and especially with customer trends that we're picking up through our research and though our dialogue, we fully embrace that electrified, carbon-neutral future.

“But please, please don't worry because for the next nine years, we will celebrate to the nth degree everything that we do in eight cylinders, in hybrids, and in 12 cylinders.

“And we'll do the best Bentleys that we've ever done, and we'll send this combustion engine technology era out with the maximum fireworks,” Hallmark enthused.

Bentley was rebuilt on the back of the W12 which recently has been refreshed. It is currently showcased in Speed versions of the Continental GT and Bentayga. It now boasts outputs of 485kW and 900Nm.

More recently the brand has leveraged a 4.0-litre Audi-sourced twin-turbo V8 as a mainstay. The grandfather’s axe 6.75-litre V8 used in the Mulsanne and which can trace its roots back to the original Rolls-Royce and Bentley days was discontinued in mid-2020.

Bentley has also dumped the turbo-diesel variant of the Bentayga with more frugal ICE variants focussed on plug-in hybrid powertrains.

Although the Bentayga is already offered with a V6 petrol-electric powertrain in some markets, Australia’s first plug-in hybrid Bentley will be a new version of the next Flying Spur sedan .

Hallmark says the yet-to-be-unveiled new powertrain that will feature in the uber-luxurious sedan is a further step forward. And there’s more to come.

“The Flying Spur has a lot more horsepower in the base engine, as well as a little bit more range in the electric. And because the car is lighter, this combination makes the car absolutely sublime. It's literally as refined as the W12, but the economy of the vehicle is truly incredible,” the Bentley boss claimed.

“And the next generation of hybrids, which will be about two to three years away, will be with more powerful engines and much more battery power. So, you'll end up with more power than the W12, four and eight-cylinder and a hybrid [package] with a fuel economy equivalent to or better than a diesel,” he stated.

Hallmark says the PHEVs will reduce Bentley’s CO2 footprint by “between 16 and 17 per cent in the real world”.

He said Bentley’s first EV will be launched in 2025 with meaningful delivery targets for early the following year.

“It will actually be early 2026 before we see broad-scale [EV deliveries] across the world on the road,” Hallmark explained.

“But from '26 to '29, we then systematically go from ICE to electric in every nameplate over that three0 to four-year period. We really are on an extraordinary journey from that perspective.”

Hallmark says the transition to electrification is the “next big strategic leap” for Bentley.

“We believe that we can make Bentley environmentally and ethically transparent and [carbon] neutral or positive. And we think this gives luxury a purpose.

“It makes the brand and the segment appeal to a new generation of customers,” he stated.