The first electric Bentley model is scheduled for 2025.
Bentley Motors, the iconic British luxury car maker, says goodbye to its W12 engine after nearly two decades as the iconic brand heads towards an all-electric future.
Bentley has announced that production of the famous W12 engine will stop next year. The last Bentley 12-cylinder engine will be produced in April 2024, with hybrid and V8 options available. The famous W12 engine was first introduced in 2003, and more than 100,000 have been produced since That moment.
Bentley enters the electric age
Bentley has insisted it now wants to start making steps towards serious electrification, with the company investing £2.5 billion ($2.64 billion) to electrify its lineup over the next decade.
Bentley, part of Volkswagen, announced in the fall of 2020 its intention to become an all-electric brand within 10 years, as part of its Beyond100 sustainability strategy, reinventing every aspect of the business to become a fully carbon-neutral company by 2030.
Over the next 10 years, Bentley is investing £2.5 billion (about $3.4 billion) to convert its entire model range to battery electric vehicles only.
Bentley's first electric vehicle to replace the W12
The British automaker's first electric vehicle is expected to be produced in 2025 and will be a luxury coupe based on the EXP 100 GT concept. According to Bentley boss Adrian Hallmark, the company's first electric car will have up to 1,400 horsepower and a 0-60 mile time. At the time of 1.5 seconds.
With a 0-60 time of 1 second, the upcoming all-electric Bentley will be the fastest accelerating car on the planet, easily besting the Rimac Nievera's 1.85 seconds.
However, Hallmark also suggested that customers have the option of a "slower 0-60mph time of 2.7 seconds" if they find the fastest setting too uncomfortable. As for costs, Bentley's first electric coupe coming in 2025 is expected to cost More than €250,000 ($263,840, according to Hallmark), with a price tag this high, it would be at the top of Bentley's luxury car line-up.
Bentley's dream factory for electric vehicles
Following the release of Bentley's first electric vehicle in 2025, the automaker intends to launch 4 additional electric cars between 2026 and 2030. The Bentley Five Concentrates will also include the construction of a new factory in Crewe, England in order to accelerate the company's shift to making electric cars instead of electric motors. internal combustion.
The new “dream factory” that Bentley intends to build as part of the electric transformation plans will employ more than 4,000 people and will only produce electric cars only, and for more sustainability and an environmentally friendly industry, the carbon-neutral facility will only use renewable energy and is scheduled to open in 2030.