The luxury automaker not only has to keep up with changing technology, consumer taste and industry standards, it must also consistently deliver the old world-inspired sophistication that its known for.
The automotive industry’s move towards electrification adds another challenge — one Bentley is also taking on with its Beyond 100 initiative to become a fully electric brand by 2030 and electrified versions of all its products on offer by 2023.
Beneath the bonnet of the Bentley Flying Spur Hybrid is the first V6 to be found in a Bentley sedan in 64 years, specifically a 2.9-liter twin-turbo power plant that gins up 410 horsepower on its own.
Along with the e-motor, new components include an 18.0-kWh battery and a level 2 J1772 charging port, which Bentley states can be topped up in two and a half hours. It’s good for about 21 miles of all-electric cruising and gives the Flying Spur a solid 46 combined MPGe, a far cry from its other, thirstier iterations.
Within the cabin, the tech matches that found in the rest of the Flying Spur lineup as well as the Continental GT Coupe: a 12.3-inch digital touchscreen that tumbles away when not needed to reveal three analog gauges,
Battery status is one of the many things that can be tracked away from the Flying Spur, thanks to connected car services that link to the car via a smartphone app.
Defaulting to EV mode upon start-up is a clever showcase of the Flying Spur Hybrid’s best attributes. Relatively silent and incredibly gentle, the electrified Bentley feels as if this is what it was meant for all along.
Any desire to really get a move on requires the activation of the V6.In fact, trying to customize only the throttle response necessitates sport mode. All of this effectively breaks the spell the all-electric mode has cast.
Take all of the above with a very refined grain of salt. We’re still talking about a Bentley here, and it still does everything in a comparatively stellar fashion relative to most vehicles out there.
Bentley is kind enough to throw in a charging unit with the roughly $210,000 purchase, so buyers don’t need not deign to visit the local community charging station.
In context, this will feel like an important step to reach the promises of full electric luxury. In the present, the Bentley Flying Spur Hybrid fumbles between doing what it does best and what it’s doing for the first time,