BOSS BENTLEY

British luxury motor manufacturer Bentley has promised an entirely electric line-up within the next 10 years, and though it doesn’t yet produce a single full EV, its new Flying Spur Hybrid limousine is certainly a step in the right direction. Beneath its bonnet you won’t find either a thumping great eight- or 12-cylinder, but instead a more modest twin-turbo V6 which, with a help of an electric motor, distributes more than 535bhp and 750Nm to all four wheels, while offering an emission-free range of around 40km. Moreover, the interior of this recently announced Odyssean limited edition of the plug-in hybrid employs sustainable materials such as tweed, which were first featured in the EXP 100 GT concept car a couple of years ago. As a glimpse of the future, however, it all looks comfortingly (and comfortably) familiar, as if an extremely posh gentleman’s club had been gently nudged into the 21st century.