Bentley has announced that the Flying Spur will receive hybrid power from the company’s new 771bhp Ultra Performance Hybrid system. Released recently in the new Bentley Continental GT Speed, the performance-focused V8 hybrid powertrain will make the Flying Spur the most powerful four-door in the company’s 105-year history. It will replace the current Flying Spur which was revealed in 2019.
With 771bhp and 1000 Nm (738 lb.ft) available from the blend of a new 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine with a “powerful yet compact” electric motor, the Ultra Performance Hybrid powertrain, Bentley says, is its future, “delivering astonishing flexibility from incredibly accessible supercar performance to silent, effortless electric luxury” adding that it is “potent and tranquil in equal measure.”
The electric motor allows for silent and zero-emissions driving for up to 45 miles and Bentley boasts CO2 emissions dropping below 40g/km and a combined range of over 500 miles.
This, the firm says, is the latest chapter in the company’s history of innovating. In the 1920s, Bentley was among the earliest adopters of superchargers, before switching to turbocharging from the 1980s until today. “Bentley now goes one step further” it says, “ bringing even more performance through ‘electrocharging’ combining a potent hybrid system “to create the most technologically advanced and most powerful powertrain” in the company’s history.
The combination of V8 and electric power allows the car to deliver improved power and torque across the entire rev range, including a “vital boost” from the electric motor for strong acceleration from low speeds and throughout the mid-range. The V8 meanwhile offers increased performance at higher speeds as well.
Finally, Bentley says that a significant amount of the development was invested into the exhaust note, “emphasising the cross-plane quality – and without the use of artificial, electronic enhancement.”
