Enlarge / After constructing nearly 100,000 W12-powered Bentley Continental GTs, the model is transferring to a plug-in powertrain. (credit score: Jonathan Gitlin)
BARCELONA—The times of massive engines are numbered, even for large spenders. Proudly owning a GT that allows you to drive throughout Europe in a day in cosseted luxurious means little or no in the event you’re not allowed to drive it into the town you are meant to be visiting, in any case. Low emissions zones are both a truth of life or on the way in which in most of the extra fascinating city postcodes, and even right here within the US, we’re about to start out getting fairly powerful on gasoline effectivity. Which is why Bentley is saying goodbye to its W12-powered Continental GT Pace and changing it with a brand new plug-in hybrid as a substitute.
The W12 engine has turn into one thing of a trademark for Bentley within the 21st century. For a few years, Bentleys have been basically simply badge-engineered Rolls-Royces, whereas each corporations have been owned by the plane maker Vickers. However VW group took management of Bentley in 1998—BMW obtained Rolls-Royce—and it was time for one thing recent.
Initially developed inside mum or dad firm Volkswagen Group to be used within the all-aluminum Audi A8, the W12 design basically mated a pair of narrow-angle V6 engines as used within the Golf VR6 to create a compact and highly effective multi-cylinder engine for these prospects in search of a powertrain a bit much less widespread than a V8.
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