Bentley’s hard-drinking years are almost behind it.
An elegant, imposing presence in any setting, now just a little more friendly to the environment.
Huseyin Erturk
Is It time to rageagainst the dying of the light? Not long ago, the idea of Bentley chasing either modernity or improved gas mileage would have had ’em rolling in the aisles. The English luxury brand was as traditional and unchanging as the rules of cricket, whatever those are. The famous L-series pushrod V-8 served in the company’s products from 1959 until the retirement of the Mulsanne in 2020. That engine was originally a Rolls-Royce unit. Bentley’s turbo-charged versions, gentlemanly thugs perfectly suited to old-fashioned priorities, combined industrial-diesel levels of torque with the fuel economy of a helicopter. The turbocharged 6.0-liter W-12 that Volkswagen created largely for Bentley’s use at the turn of the century was much more technically advanced but equally unlikely to be nominated for environmental awards.
This story originally appeared in Volume 10 of Road & Track.
Yet Bentley’s world is shifting quickly. The brand’s rush toward an electric future is largely driven by the Volkswagen Group’s corporate politics; combustion engines will soon be thin on the ground in Europe. And Bentley has publicly committed to offer a plug-in-hybrid version of each model by 2024, drop all pure combustion powerplants by 2026, and switch entirely to EVs by 2030. Against the boldness of that schedule, the company’s first electrified model was a timid start. The Bentayga Hybrid SUV has 99 hp less than the V-8 versions and weighs around 500 pounds more. The new Flying Spur Hybrid gets closer to its eight-cylinder sibling on both of those metrics.
That’s because the Bentayga Hybrid uses an older hybridized 3.0-liter twin-turbo V-6, while the Flying Spur gets a far punchier system. Closely related to the one in the Porsche Panamera 4S E-Hybrid, it features a 2.9-liter six-cylinder with turbos packaged tightly in the vee of its cylinder banks. The 410-hp V-6 is assisted by a 134-hp electric motor mounted between the engine and the eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. The engine can declutch to allow the e-motor to drive the Spur by itself, or it can add boost. The peak system output of 536 hp (slightly less than the combined totals for both sides of the powertrain) means that the Spur Hybrid makes just 6 hp less than the V-8 version—and 93 hp more than the Bentayga Hybrid. Performance is similarly close, with Bentley claiming a 4.1-second 0–60 time for the Hybrid, just a tenth behind the V-8, mainly because the Hybrid is heavier.
At lower speeds, electric propulsion suits the Flying Spur extremely well. When the car is in EV mode, drivers can waft around urban areas with an almost total lack of noise. On a trip that started in Beverly Hills—apparently the most Bentley-dense part of the U.S.—the Hybrid proved almost freakishly quiet when running as an EV, although it does project an external hum to warn pedestrians of its approach.
The trees whose wood is trimming this interior would be proud of what they’ve become.
Tom Fowlks
Under electric power, this Spur couldn’t beat a Prius in a stoplight drag race. Staying in EV mode requires serious gas-pedal discipline; anything more than gentle pressure rouses the V-6 to life. Bentley estimates that the 18.0-kWh battery pack will deliver up to 20 miles of range. But those would be very slow miles.
At gentle speeds, combustion power arrives as unobtrusively as a good butler, but sudden requests for faster progress make the transition clumsier. When the V-6 starts, it immediately breaks the silence with the sudden arrival of revs equal to your foot position on the throttle. As the gearbox software works out which ratio best corresponds to the perceived urgency, there’s a slight wait before the rush to deliver it. Although the electric motor does its best to get things rolling, the delay is obvious.
Yet once everything is flowing, the Hybrid does turn Bentley-fast, delivering big longitudinal g-forces and lifting its prow slightly as the V-6 hits its stride. Unfortunately, the soundtrack lacks the drama of the V-8 or W-12; the V-6’s exhaust note gains volume but never finds any interesting harmonies. Subjectively, the Hybrid feels as quick as the V-8, certainly at the sort of speeds that can be attempted in Southern California. (Regular autobahn commuters should know that the Hybrid’s 177-mph top speed is 21 mph shy of the pure combustion car’s.)
If for some reason, owners forget what car they have, an open door will helpfully remind them. Such is the pampered life of Bentley drivers.
Tom Fowlks
The chassis does a fine job of dealing with the Flying Spur Hybrid’s considerable mass—5523 pounds, according to Bentley. The air springs absorb bigger bumps with pillowy compliance, while the clever adaptive dampers act fast enough to stop secondary motions from building up. My test car wore monstrous 22-inch wheels, the big- gest upgrade, and they gave the ride a busy edge over high-frequency bumps; 20- and 21-inch fitments will bring more limo-like compliance. The Hybrid can’t be ordered with the 48-volt active anti-roll system of the V-8 and W-12, but it doesn’t lean excessively, even at an enthusiastic pace.
While hoonery doubtless wasn’t part of the brief for the Spur’s engineering team, refinement was—and there is a problem with the brakes at low speeds. They’re hard to modulate when coming to a halt, likely as the car switches from regeneration to pure friction braking. That makes it all but impossible to achieve the sort of invisible stop that keeps rear-seat champagne unsplashed and chauffeurs unscolded.
The Flying Spur Hybrid isn’t very electric, and the only external cues revealing its status as a plug-in hybrid are tiny “Hybrid” badges on the fenders and the presence of a second filler cap for charging. But it is a Bentley.
Given that we expect similar pricing between the two, why would anybody choose the Hybrid over the V-8, which is more charismatic and representative of the traditional Bentley experience? In many parts of the world, the answer is simple: tax breaks. Yet the Hybrid feels much less compromised than most luxury plug-ins and offers a very gentle introduction to the company’s electric future. It’s a car for those who don’t want to rage against the dying of the light, who are more than willing to go gentle into that good night.
Specifications
Specifications
2022 Bentley Flying Spur Hybrid
PRICE
$213.325 (as tested)
ENGINE
2.9-liter twin-turbo V-6 + electric motor-generator
OUTPUT536 hp
553lb-ft
TRANSMISSION
8-speed dual-clutch automatic
CURB WEIGHT
5523 lb
0-60
4.1 seconds
Keyword: The Bentley Flying Spur Hybrid Is a Gentle Intro to an Electric Future