Car spotters have brought in a strange catch today: a Bentley Flying Spur fitted with an unusual exhaust system and a small hatch that could be concealing a charging port.
With the Mulsanne series finally sent to retirement, the luxury saloon ascended to the pinnacle of the Bentley model range – and it now looks like the British automaker wants to spin off a new version. We have a few guesses as to its identity.
One would be that the development car is a Flying Spur Speed, which should hit the market later packing a six-liter W12 instead of the usual V8 rated at 635 hp (467 kW) and 900 Nm (664 lb-ft) of torque.
There are two points undermining this theory. First, just like the Continental GT V8, the vehicle has quad exhaust tips instead of two. Second, there is a mysterious hatch on the left rear fender in addition to the regular fuel tank lid on the right side. This seems like solid evidence that the prototype is a plug-in hybrid.
Bentley ex-CEO Wolfgang Dürheimer said three years ago that the company intended to hybridize its entire range in the coming years. In the spring of 2018, a new Bentayga Hybrid hybrid spec was released with a 3.0-liter petrol V6 rated at 449 hp (335 kW), and electric motor, and a traction battery for 50 km (31 miles) of all-electric range.
All in all, it looks like the Flying Spur is next in line to get a PHEV powertrain. Being based on the Porsche Panamera platform, it can easily inherit that model’s engine and transmission options. These include a 2.9-liter V6 good for 330 hp (246 kW) and a 4.0-liter V8 capable of 550 hp (410 kW), both paired with a single electric motor rated at 136 hp (100 kW).