So far as flagship engines go, Bentley’s twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter W12 is greater than deserving of the title. With a legacy that dates again to the early 2000s and the work of trade legend Ferdinand Piëch, it’s an iconic powerplant. Nevertheless, provided that the British model produced its remaining W12 final 12 months, it now faces a dilemma: what to interchange a flagship engine with?
The reply arrived final 12 months below the hood of the fourth-generation Continental GT Pace: a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 paired with an electrical motor and a 25.9 kilowatt-hour battery pack. It’s a plug-in hybrid combo that additionally powers the Lamborghini Urus SE and the Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid. This week, I’m within the latest flagship to undertake this hybridized setup, the 2025 Bentley Flying Spur Pace.
Creating 771 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque, it produces 145 hp and 74 lb-ft greater than the outgoing Pace’s engine. Nevertheless, because the Spur’s much-loved W12 was by no means brief on energy, is its plug-in hybrid successor only a case of downsizing to fulfill stricter emissions laws, or does it have a allure of its personal?
From a visible standpoint, there isn’t a lot that distinguishes the newest Flying Spur Pace from its predecessor. That’s as a result of, not like the Continental GT Pace, which entered a brand new era final 12 months alongside the arrival of its new engine, Bentley’s sedan continues to be in its third iteration. As such, it nonetheless rides on the identical platform that underpins the Porsche Panamera and, regardless of main updates to its powertrain, retains the usage of a dual-clutch automated transmission and the carmaker’s stellar energetic anti-roll system.
Whereas they’re refined, the Flying Spur Pace does undertake some aesthetic updates. Probably the most important addition is the supply of a darkish tint choice for the sedan’s exterior and inside brightwork. Consider Rolls Royce’s method to its Black Badge fashions. Its aero bundle, as a part of the Styling Specification, now comes completed in physique colour, whereas it rides on a brand new set of 22-inch ten-spoke wheels. Open its doorways, and also you’ll spot new LED puddle lights, rounding out this sedan’s comparatively brief listing of revisions.
It’s an identical story as you step inside, with the Bentley Flying Spur Pace retaining its digital instrument cluster and its 12.3-inch infotainment display screen, though the pair sport new graphics. Its seats are adorned with a brand new 3D quilted sample, which you’ll additionally discover on its door playing cards. You too can darken its brightwork by way of the aforementioned Darkish Chrome Specification, as seen on my tester.
Beginning at $276,450, this particular automobile pairs its darkish trim with a two-tone black and Mandarin orange inside, a $9,615 Naim sound system, a $6,995 rotating touchscreen show, and a $22,135 Mandarin exterior end. This brings its complete as-tested worth to $367,060.
As you may count on, these updates pale compared to what’s occurring below the Spur’s hood. For the 2025 mannequin 12 months, it’s solely accessible as a plug-in hybrid, even should you go for the marginally detuned “base” mannequin. That mentioned, the least highly effective sedan Bentley at the moment makes nonetheless produces 671 hp and 685 lb-ft. Nevertheless, step as much as the Pace, and people figures rise to 771 hp and 738 lb-ft, making it essentially the most highly effective sedan the British carmaker has ever produced.
Its twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 units the bottom for these immense numbers, producing 591 hp and 590 lb-ft by itself. An electrical motor develops as much as 187 hp and 332 lb-ft, pairing with a 25.9-kilowatt-hour battery pack to offer an estimated electric-only vary of as much as 47 miles. Extra on that later.
Given the V8’s lighter weight when in comparison with the outgoing W12 and Bentley’s choice to place the Pace’s new batteries near its trunk, it now sports activities a rear-biased weight distribution of 48:52. These stats translate to a sedan, which, regardless of gaining 460 kilos over its W12 predecessor, totaling a 5,833-lb curb weight, nonetheless sprints to 60 mph in 3.3 seconds and tops out at 177 mph.
In the true world, it’s tough to overstate simply how speedy the Bentley Flying Spur Pace feels. It accelerates with a ferocity no automobile in its weight class needs to be able to. Whereas its V8 already generates its peak torque output at 2,000 rpm, the accompanying electrical motor steps in to each bolster that efficiency and fill in to counteract the results of turbo lag. The result’s a throttle response that feels instantaneous when dialed as much as essentially the most aggressive drive mode, permitting it to select up velocity effortlessly.
Its dual-clutch automated transmission enhances this efficiency properly, executing shifts at once. On the identical time, the Spur’s all-wheel-drive system allows it to place all that energy down with none lack of traction. Nevertheless, the V8’s engine word stays a spotlight of the expertise. Regardless of powering an ultra-luxury sedan, Bentley pairs this powerplant with a decently vocal and comparatively free-flowing exhaust, permitting it to play its burbly, muscle-car-like tune.
Straightline acceleration apart, a part of what made the earlier Bentley Flying Spur Pace particular was its capacity to marry an ultra-luxury expertise with a driving expertise that retained some genuine sportiness. That’s one thing this newest mannequin is each higher at and worse than the Spurs that got here earlier than it.
Its rear-biased weight distribution performs a major function, particularly whenever you think about that it now not has a hefty W12 over its entrance axle. Flip right into a bend, and the brand new Pace follows your instructions with out defaulting to understeer like its predecessor. Bentley quickened its variable electrical energy steering to make it really feel as agile as attainable. Nevertheless, its calibration oscillates between being far too gradual in Consolation and too twitchy in Sport. Someplace within the center would generate a extra pure really feel.
As normal, the Bentley Flying Spur Pace comes outfitted with the model’s Efficiency Lively Chassis. It consists of gadgets akin to 48-volt energetic anti-roll bars, rear-wheel steering, torque vectoring, and an digital limited-slip differential within the rear. It’s a {hardware} suite that eliminates a lot of this 5,833-lb sedan’s physique roll whereas maximizing its mechanical grip, permitting it to exit corners confidently.
Paired with new twin-valve dampers, the Pace can agency its experience extra considerably in Sport mode with out sacrificing its plushness within the Consolation setting. Its dampers work at the side of an adaptive air suspension setup. As such, its again street efficiency is as spectacular as its capacity to absorb street imperfections round city and on the freeway.
Nevertheless, these good points include some losses. As of the time of writing, Bentley has but to announce plans to supply a V8-powered Flying Spur with out a hybrid system. Whereas that is seemingly attributable to emissions laws, I’d wish to briefly revisit the Flying Spur S V8 I examined over two and a half years in the past. Whereas its 542-hp output and four-second time to 60 mph are definitely much less spectacular than what you get within the newest Pace, the S weighs practically 700 fewer kilos.
Whereas a 5,137-lb curb weight doesn’t flip a Bentley right into a Lotus, it permits lots of the energetic methods you get within the present automobile to work extra successfully. With much less weight to counteract, its Dynamic Journey allows the S to nook fully flat and obtain a stage of steadiness and stability no W12 or plug-in hybrid Flying Spur has been in a position to match since. It adjustments course immediately, dealing with like a automobile whose curb weight begins with a 4. True to the Bentley spirit, the S is an ultra-luxury automobile that also delivers a correct thrill.
That is the place the brand new Bentley Flying Spur Pace struggles. As fast as it’s in a straight line and thru the bends, it lacks the light-on-its-feet really feel achieved by the S that preceded it. As such, whereas it’s tremendously succesful, far exceeding the extent of enjoyment supplied by the Pace it replaces, by gaining extra weight, it limits its capacity to offer a real twin character.
There’s a major upside to the Pace’s good points, nonetheless, and that’s its electric-only vary. Whereas this issues extra to house owners in Europe who need to cope with ultra-low-emissions zones, US-based consumers nonetheless profit from this setup’s elevated effectivity and its capacity to cowl as much as 47 miles with out ever firing up the automobile’s V8. For many who need the quietest commute, it’s a great setup.
Beginning at $276,450, the up to date 2025 Bentley Flying Spur Pace marks a formidable entry into the plug-in hybrid world. It’s extra highly effective, faster, and extra environment friendly than the automobile it replaces whereas retaining its attractiveness. Extra importantly, its V8 engine oozes character due to each its efficiency and its burbly engine word.
Inside, its cabin advantages from refinements to its seats in addition to an expanded listing of customization extras. Due to its use of an electrical motor and a battery pack, the Pace backs up its world-beating efficiency with the added flexibility of electric-only cruising.
Whereas there’s no denying this automobile’s flagship standing, its have to masks its ever-rising weight means it’s not fairly the luxurious driver’s automobile it as soon as was.
