Downsizing is not just for the common people. Bentley, for example, is adding a new plug-in hybrid version of its Bentayga SUV, one that will combine the efforts of a 3.0-liter V-6 engine and an electric motor. That makes this Bentayga the first Bentley with fewer than eight cylinders in quite some time.
By our reckoning, the last six-cylinder Bentley would have been prior to the introduction of the exceptionally long-serving Rolls-Royce L-series V-8 in 1959, the pushrod engine that?in highly evolved form?still powers the top-of-the-line Mulsanne sedan.
The arrival of the hybrid means the Bentayga will be offered with no fewer than four powerplants: the 6.0-liter W-12 that tops the line, the 4.0-liter V-8 that is just being launched, the Europe-only triple-boosted 4.0-liter V-8 diesel, and now the hybrid. That?s a serious amount of engineering complexity for a car that has only just seen its 10,000th example produced after nearly two years on sale. In Bentley terms, though, that volume makes the Bentayga what the F-series is to Ford, and the new powertrain offering will increase the model’s appeal to buyers in parts of the world with stringent taxes based on engine capacity, CO2 emissions, or both.
Aside from telling us that the electric-only range will be better than 30 miles, Bentley remains coy about the exact specs of the powertrain and also has not released any performance claims?in stark contrast to the brand?s normal enthusiasm for telling us just how fast it...