Are you also excited about the Bentley flying spur hybrid? Let’s check out in detail what bentley flying spur hybrid has to offer. The luxury carmaker must not only keep up with evolving technology, consumer tastes, and industry norms, but it must also maintain its reputation for old world-inspired refinement. The automotive industry’s transition to electrification presents a new challenge, one that Bentley is addressing with its Beyond 100 program, which aims to make Bentley a wholly electric brand by 2030 and also offering electric models by 2023.
Bentley Shaping EV: Bentley Flying Spur 2022 Model
The hybrid version of the Bentley Bentayga SUV was the company’s first foray into electrified territory in 2019. Now it is time for the Flying Spur, a full-size luxury car that’s been available with either a luxurious W12 or a spirited V8 engine in the past.
In order to show that a Bentley is more than just a loud power plant, the automaker swapped in a V6-centric hybrid engine. The end result is that the Bentley Flying Spur Hybrid is an outlier on the rough path to the future.
Bolts and nuts
The Bentley Flying Spur Hybrid is equipped with the first V6 engine in a Bentley sedan in 64 years, a 2.9-liter twin-turbo engine that generates 410 horsepower on its own. This is combined with a 134-horsepower electric motor that sits between the engine and the automatic transmission’s 8-speed dual-clutch transmission.
The Flying Spur Hybrid produces 536 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque when everything works together, sending power to the all four wheels and accelerating from 0 to 60 in 4.1 seconds. For those keeping track, this is only a tenth of a second slower than the V8.
To put this in context, the W12 Flying Spur produces 626 horsepower and accelerates from zero to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds. It can also cruise at 207 mph, with a top speed of 198 mph with the 542-horsepower V8. The new hybrid has a top speed of 177 mph. For people who don’t live near an unrestricted length of autobahn, all of this is irrelevant, but it does portray an image of a car that is striving to meet, rather than surpass, expectations.
Modes and batteries
Along with the e-motor, Bentley has included an 18.0-kWh battery and a level 2 J1772 charging connection that can be charged in two and a half hours, according to the company. It offers the Flying Spur a decent 46 combined MPGe, a far cry from its prior, thirstier predecessors, and allows for around 21 miles of all-electric cruising. The only features that distinguish this Flying Spur from others are the extra port and the “Hybrid” badge.
There are a variety of modes that alter driving dynamics, determining the gentleness or sportiness of certain systems, just like in other Bentley vehicles. With the new hybrid arrangement, drivers now have a new set of modes to control the powertrain’s behavior: EV Drive, Hybrid, and Hold.
At start-up, the Flying Spur Hybrid puts its best foot forward by selecting EV Drive. It’s a subtle, gliding foretaste of what an all-electric Bentley will be like when it arrives.
Hybrid mode switches between systems based on driving behavior and conditions, but it also optimizes routes thanks to the link between this system and that on-board navigation. When you enter a route, the Flying Spur will calculate the most economical segments to use up the remainder of its battery.
Hold mode will reduce battery usage but not eliminate it entirely. The V6 will be used primarily, but the e-motor will be used for added power. In Sport driving mode, this is also the default setting.
When it comes to driving, certain notable concessions were made in order to accommodate all of the new hybrid gear. The V8 and W12 Flying Spurs have rear-wheel steering and a 48-volt anti-roll system. These systems not only improve the balance and stability of the sedan for more pleasant cruising, but also help to change the characteristics of the car when it is driven quickly and sportily.
Accommodations of the highest quality
The technology in the cabin is similar to that found in the rest of that Flying Spur lineup as well as that Continental GT Coupe: a 12.3-inch digital touchscreen that slides away when not in use to show three analog gauges, an all-digital instrument cluster, and a head-up display. They’ve been updated with new graphics to monitor battery usage, remaining charge, and regeneration, with the gauge cluster in particular being modified to reflect real-time powertrain activity.
Thanks to connected auto services that connect to the car via a smartphone app, the battery level is one of several factors that can be tracked away from the Flying Spur.
The software also allows users to plan charging periods and obtain charge time predictions in addition to the current charge. It also keeps track of trip statistics, such as average fuel use, so that future excursions can be planned more accurately.
Bentley’s exquisite interior craftsmanship hasn’t changed. Soft leather seats, open pore Koa wood inlays, metal diamond-cut knurled knobs, and a laundry list of other meticulous features make the Flying Spur a fantastic thrill. Bentley appears to have the luxury side of things nailed down at this stage, yet this doesn’t like to be the case when it really comes to electrification.
The user experience (UX)
The Flying Spur Hybrid’s greatest features are showcased by defaulting to EV mode upon startup. The electrified Bentley is quite quiet and incredibly delicate, as if this is exactly what it was designed for all along.
When you combine this with the cabin’s extensive sound dampening, the feeling can be downright terrifying at times, and it really takes a split second for your senses to remember that everything is working as the way it supposed to be and that nothing has been turned off. Passengers have the sense of floating through town on a serene, elegant cloud, and while this is the pinnacle Bentley experience from the back seats, it’s a different story behind the wheel.
While the desire to go all out in a W12 or have a spirited drive in a V8 is always present, the Flying Spur is a car designed to be driven in comfort for the most of its life. In that aspect, the name of the game has been effortless acceleration, fluid gear shifts, and cushiony braking, all of which have been tweaked in this iteration of the Spur.
Bentley’s “Bentley” mode is an automatic catch-all setting that varies depending on the driver’s actions: drive gently and it will behave in comfort mode; drive aggressively and it will move to sport mode. In general, these have an impact on steering tightness, damper rigidity, and throttle and braking input speeds. These three choices now have to battle with the driver’s preferred drivetrain setting, which further complicates things.
The throttle features a tiny input delay by default, which is common in premium vehicles to prevent jarring forward motion. It operates well in E-mode at modest speeds, but completely relying on the electric motor has its drawbacks. Any urge to get things done necessitates the activation of the V6.
In fact, if you merely want to change the throttle response, you’ll need to use sport mode. All of this effectively dispels the all-electric mode’s enchantment. The satisfying grunt of either of the other engines traditionally announces its arrival, ready for action, but the V6 doesn’t spring to life in the same manner. The added sound baffling detracts from it in an unsatisfactory way.
Apart from the sound, the Flying Spur transitions from battery to engine power with ease, and once up to speed, it coasts like a Bentley. When it’s time to slow down, the Flying Spur’s newly installed regenerative braking gives it a peculiar “jump” right at the finish, making a smooth stop difficult to achieve. Overall, the presence of the hybrid system detracts from the fundamental luxury experience from beginning to end.
In sport mode, things are more familiar. Most of the new idiosyncrasies are lessened when the V6 is always engaged. While braking is still an issue, throttle and steering are still razor-sharp. The extra battery energy compensates for the smaller engine’s inadequacies, but it’s limited, and recouping a mile’s worth of range takes a long time in “hold.” The lack of rear steering isn’t as bad as the loss of the anti-roll system, which helped alleviate the Flying Spur’s weight while taking it around curves in the past.
All of the foregoing should be taken with a grain of salt. We’re still talking about a Bentley, and it still performs admirably in comparison to the majority of vehicles on the road. When compared to other Bentleys, though, the Flying Spur Hybrid stumbles a little too often to be considered top of the line.
The Bentley Flying Spur Hybrid stands out from the rest of the lineup by being the most fuel-efficient version by a long shot. Its electric range of 21 miles or so isn’t much on its own, but when combined with the V6, it can go a long way, as long as it’s charged regularly at home. Bentley has generously included a charge unit with the about $210,000 purchase, removing the need for buyers to visit a communal charging station.
In view of Bentley’s larger objective, sacrificing the Flying Spur’s premium traits seems like a necessary growing pain.
In the context, this will appear to be a significant step toward the full electrified luxury promised. Today, the Bentley Flying Spur Hybrid struggles between doing what it does well and attempting something new, resulting in a rare Bentley that fails to deliver. The all-electric mode on this automobile is a tantalizing taste of what’s to come; it’s just a bad it’s so brief.