Long live the V8: Bentley postpones first electric car

Bentley gave the W12 engine a good finale last year with the Batur, which was the last Bentley to receive the company’s powerful twelve-cylinder engine. The first electric car from Bentley would be launched in 2025 and will replace the V8 a little later. But Bentley is now returning to it. At the presentation of the annual figures, Bentley boss Adrian Hallmark announced that the first electric car will take time.

So we would see the first EV next year and it should be on the shelves a year later. Both dates will be postponed by one year. According to Hallmark, the battery and the platform are not yet up to the desired level. Just like Audi and Porsche, Bentley will use PPE (Premium Platform Electric). But Bentley wants a minimum range of 600 km. In SUVs from Porsche and Audi, the 100-kWh battery already achieves that (on paper) and Bentley is on the same platform. Maybe it just weighs a little more, but that’s just a guess.

Bentley hybrid models

Unfortunately, we have to disappoint fans of Bentleys with a combustion engine only. The new Bentley always receives support from an electric motor. You can now buy a Bentley for the PHEV version of the Flying Spur and order a hybrid Bentayga. A Continental GT hybrid will be added after the summer. To cheer up pure gasoline enthusiasts: the Flying Spur, which you can now only order with a six-cylinder hybrid, will soon be upgraded to a V8.

According to Bentley, mixing electricity and gasoline is up to the customer. This brand is seeing increasing acceptance and demand for hybrids. From 2028, Bentley expects demand for hybrids to decline again. Maybe because then EVs will move more. In the coming years, the company will also invest in hybrid power plants and will continue to sell these cars until at least 2031. After that, the curtain will fall on the V8. Now they say…