Bentley’s famed 8- and 12-cylinder engines will soon be a thing of the past, replaced in 2030 with an EV-only lineup. The first step in that march toward electrification is the 2022 Bentley Flying Spur Hybrid, a plug-in version of the company’s big sedan that wants to prove it’s possible to maintain the brand’s peerless sense of occasion, even without any noise coming from under the hood.
While the Bentayga Hybrid was technically the first electrified Bentley, the sedan is the most significant so far. Big four-doors have been a staple of the automaker’s lineup for well over half a century, offering slightly more performance and slightly less flamboyance than some rivals. If the Flying Spur Hybrid is going to succeed, it needs to follow that muscle-under-the-radar formula, but it also should offer something special that rewards folks for choosing plug-in power over the legendary, woofling W12 or the well-mannered V8.
