Bentley won’t offer diesel engines

While more and more automakers have announced plans to offer diesel engines for their models, Bentley has done the complete opposite by saying that diesel is not something they would offer in the future. Charman and CEO Franz-Josef Paefgen has said that Bentley had found diesel engines impressive, but the company is now saying that with adverse market conditions, like the ones we’re experiencing, the move to diesel is unlikely.

“The forthcoming Euro 6 clean-air regs are likely to pile some big costs on to diesels,” says Bentley powertrain boss Brian Gush. And there’s a strong prejudice against them in the US and Japan, which are key markets for us. The attitude of Chinese buyers is going to have a big effect on cars like ours in future, too, and they are none too keen. Those of us who know diesels can see the benefits, but in large parts of the world the cars just wouldn’t sell.”

Next to the familiar 6.0-liter W12 engine, as found in their Continental GT, Bentley will also offer a 4.0 liter V8 engine, but that was the only detail they let out.

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