Next Bentley Continental to have PHEV option
The future of PHEV’s (Plug-in Electric Vehicles) for Bentley appears to be set, as CEO Wolfgang Dürheimer confirms the company’s plans to introduce PHEV variants across all its models in coming years.
The announcement was made at the ongoing Detroit Motor Show where Dürheimer said: “You will understand if I don’t reveal our entire future product plan here today, but I can say that we are eager to introduce plug-in hybrid technology across all model lines in the next few years.”
This information seems to put an end to the possibility of an all-electric Bentley in the near future- a concept that was put forward by Bentley’s new design director Stefan Sielaff. While rivals Rolls-Royce have been said to be in favour of all-electric powertrains due to their low noise levels and instant torque, Bentley have instead set their sights on hybrid alternatives, with Dürheimer stating ”I consider PHEV much more than a transitional technology. It combines the best of both worlds.”
Bentley’s venture into PHEV is expected to start with the Continental GT and GTC, which will receive the same 306 kW power unit as found in the Porsche Cayenne plug-in hybrid. The Bentayga is set follow suit, but not until 2018, while a possible production version of the EXP 10 Speed 6 concept (which we could see by 2020) will certainly feature hybrid technology.
The topic of autonomous vehicles was also bought in to question, however Dürheimer quickly dispelled the possibility of fully autonomous vehicle in Bentley’s future line up, saying “technology in isolation is cold and can never be truly luxurious. We must never lose the human touch.”
