Bentley celebrates 50 years of V8

Name one engine still in production that can trace its roots back to the 1950s. Arguably there's the Chev small block and its GM Powertrain alloy successors, but nothing else springs immediately to mind.

There is another engine family that can claim that sort of longevity -- and it's a V8 also. Volkswagen-owned British luxury car-maker, Bentley, has stepped forward to claim this distinction for its 6.75-litre all-alloy V8, an engine that's more-or-less a direct descendant of the 6.2-litre powerplant introduced with the Bentley S2 Continental and its badge-engineered sibling, the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II.

Bentley doesn't like to mention Rolls any more, because that marque is now owned and operated by BMW, but the V8 in question powered both Rolls and Bentley models from the late 1950s.

"The Bentley V8 is a prime example of how a well executed original design has endured and evolved under the right guardianship," said John Lowe from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and a trustee of the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation.

"Today's engine is true to the original design. However, it has achieved power and torque increases of over 150 per cent through the skilful introduction of fuel injection, turbocharging and intercooling technologies whilst remaining compliant with the latest emissions standards. It is an extraordinary engineering story spanning five decades which deserves to be celebrated."

If BMW had managed to acquire both Bentley and Rolls-Royce when both companies were up for sale, it's almost certain that the OHV V8 would no longer be in production, since BMW V8s were already powering the Bentley Arnage.

With Volkswagen successfully outbidding BMW for the historic British manufacturer, the BMW engines for the Arnage were quietly shelved, leaving just the OHV V8 to power the Arnage and other subsequent models -- and at this stage, there's no immediate end in sight for long-lived powerhouse.