The W12 Is Gone. The Continental GT Speed Is Stronger.
Bentley's 6.0-litre W12 has been laid to rest. Its replacement, a 4.0-litre V8 plug-in hybrid called Ultra Performance Hybrid, makes 782 PS and is the most powerful road car the company has ever built.
The end of the W12 was always going to be the hardest goodbye in Crewe. The 6.0-litre twin-turbocharged twelve-cylinder defined Bentley's modern era, and its retirement marks the close of a chapter that began with the Continental GT itself in 2003. The fourth-generation Continental GT Speed, revealed in 2024, does not apologise for what replaces it. The Ultra Performance Hybrid powertrain pairs a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 with an electric motor for 782 PS (771 hp) and 1,000 Nm of torque. It is the most powerful Bentley road car ever built.
The W12's grandeur is gone, but the new car's dual personality is arguably more Bentley than the old car's single-minded muscle.
The powertrain, in detail
The V8 produces 600 PS on its own, running single-scroll turbos and higher fuel injection pressure for cleaner combustion. The 190 PS electric motor sits inside the eight-speed dual-clutch housing, which is why the Speed answers the throttle before the cylinders have fully woken. A 25.9 kWh battery under the boot floor gives up to 81 km of electric range and charges at up to 11 kW AC, a full charge taking 2 hours 45 minutes. The result: 0-100 km/h in 3.2 seconds, four tenths quicker than the old W12 Speed, and a 335 km/h top speed.
What the hybrid changes about the character
Around town, the Speed now moves in near silence on electricity, which suits the Bentley brief of quiet luxury better than any exhaust note could. The W12's grandeur is gone, but the new car's dual personality, ghost in the city, 782 PS grand tourer on the open road, is arguably more Bentley than the old car's single-minded muscle. The fourth-generation car carries 68 percent new components over its predecessor, and the hybrid weight gain was held to a level the chassis team could tune around with two-valve dampers and a 48-volt anti-roll system.
The analysis: mourning is optional
Enthusiasts will miss the W12's character, and rightly so. But the numbers permit no nostalgia about performance: more power, more torque, quicker acceleration, and an electric range that makes the daily commute a silent affair. The Continental GT has always been about effortless, discreet speed. The Ultra Performance Hybrid simply delivers more of it, with less ceremony. The W12 era ended. The Speed endures.
