Category Archives: News

News

Bentley Hits Pause on EV Dreams, Doubles Down on Hybrid Bentayga for 2028

There was a time—not long ago—when Bentley seemed ready to sprint headlong into an all-electric future. Five EVs by 2030, a battery-powered successor to the Bentayga, and a clean break from combustion. That plan, like so many ambitious electrification roadmaps, has now met reality. The new strategy? Slow down, recalibrate, and double down on plug-in hybrids.

At the center of that rethink sits the next-generation Bentley Bentayga, due in 2028. It won’t be the EV standard-bearer once envisioned. Instead, it will lead a new wave of Bentley plug-in hybrids—less a revolution, more a carefully judged evolution.

A Reality Check from Stuttgart

Bentley’s pivot isn’t happening in isolation. Parent group dynamics—and more specifically, delays at Porsche—have forced a rewrite. The much-anticipated SSP-based electric architecture, originally destined to underpin the Bentayga EV, has been pushed into the next decade at significant cost. That left Bentley with a choice: wait, or adapt.

Adapt it is.

Rather than sit on its hands, Bentley is shifting the next Bentayga onto the PPC platform—the same bones set to underpin the next Porsche Cayenne and future large Audi Q9. It’s a platform built for flexibility, capable of housing everything from straight-up combustion engines to next-gen plug-in hybrid systems.

The Bridge to Electric—Whether You Like It or Not

Bentley CEO Frank-Steffen Walliser isn’t shy about the reasoning. The demand for high-end EVs hasn’t quite matched the industry’s early optimism, and forcing customers into full electrification risks alienating a loyal base.

That base, crucially, loves the Bentayga. It’s been the brand’s best-seller since its 2015 debut, accounting for roughly half of all sales. In other words, you don’t mess with a winning formula—you refine it.

So the next Bentayga will lean heavily on a new-generation plug-in hybrid setup, likely centered around a 3.0-liter V6. Expect power outputs in the same ballpark as today’s 456 horsepower, but with a meaningful upgrade in electric-only range over the current car’s modest 30 miles. New battery tech and updated electronics should push it into genuinely usable EV territory—finally.

Not Quite Done with Gasoline

For all the electrified talk, Bentley isn’t quite ready to close the book on internal combustion. Select markets—particularly the U.S.—will continue to see pure gasoline variants, likely including V8-powered models. Limited-run specials could even sneak through in stricter regions, depending on legislation.

It’s a pragmatic approach, if not a romantic one. The days of unfiltered, twelve-cylinder excess may be numbered, but Bentley isn’t about to abandon its heritage overnight.

Design: Concept to Reality

Visually, the new Bentayga will take cues from the EXP 15 concept, signaling a subtle but meaningful shift in Bentley’s design language. Expect sharper surfacing, more pronounced lighting signatures, and a closer visual relationship to the upcoming “Urban SUV”—a smaller, electric-leaning model aimed squarely at rivals like the Cayenne Electric and Lotus Eletre.

Underneath, the new architecture brings more than just powertrain flexibility. Advanced air suspension with active ride control, the latest driver-assistance systems, and continued support for the Extended Wheelbase variant—all but guaranteed to remain a favorite among chauffeur-driven buyers—will ensure the Bentayga stays at the sharp end of the luxury SUV class.

The EV Isn’t Dead—Just Delayed

Bentley’s first EV, the so-called “Luxury Urban EV,” is still very much on track, with a reveal expected later this year and deliveries beginning in 2027. But if you’re waiting for a fully electric Bentayga equivalent, you’ll need patience—it won’t arrive until after 2030.

And when it does, it’ll likely pack serious firepower. Sharing PPE architecture with electric Porsche models, outputs north of 1000 horsepower aren’t off the table. Range figures approaching 400 miles? Also likely.

The Big Picture

What Bentley is doing here isn’t retreat—it’s recalibration. The brand is betting that plug-in hybrids, not full EVs, are the right answer for the next decade. It’s a hedge against uncertain demand, evolving legislation, and the simple reality that even ultra-luxury buyers aren’t all ready to go fully electric.

The next Bentayga, then, won’t be a revolution. But it might be something more important: exactly what the market is willing to buy.

Source: Autocar

News

The Ford Mustang Mach-E GT California Special Arrives

There’s something slightly rebellious about taking one of Ford Mustang’s most nostalgia-soaked badges and pasting it onto an all-electric crossover. But then again, rebellion has always been part of the Mustang brief. Now, with the arrival of the Ford Mustang Mach-E GT California Special, Ford Motor Company leans even harder into that contradiction—and somehow makes it work.

The California Special name dates back to 1968, when West Coast dealers gave the original Mustang a sun-kissed identity to match its booming sales in the Golden State. This time around, the vibe is less carburetors and chrome, more kilowatts and code—but the spirit remains intact. Think Pacific Coast Highway, just with fewer gas stops and more charging stations.

Visually, the GT/CS does just enough to stand out without screaming about it. The 20-inch Carbonised Grey wheels wear subtle GT/CS logos, while badges outlined in a new Rave Blue hue add a cool-toned contrast. The real centerpiece, though, is the hood stripe—a layered mix of grey, black, and blue, radiating outward like a stylized sunset melting into the ocean. It’s thematic, sure, but not overcooked.

Inside, Ford avoids the trap of trying to make “electric” feel sterile. Instead, the cabin leans into texture and tone. Performance seats trimmed in Navy Pier ActiveX and Miko material strike a balance between premium feel and real-world durability—this is synthetic upholstery that’s designed to be lived in, not tiptoed around. A reflective blue and silver stripe runs through the seats, while the same navy material wraps the steering wheel and center console, tying the look together in a way that feels cohesive rather than gimmicky.

Underneath the styling exercise, the broader Mach-E lineup gets meaningful tweaks. Premium Extended Range models now squeeze out a bit more efficiency thanks to lower rolling resistance tires, stretching range figures to as much as 555 km for all-wheel-drive versions and 615 km for rear-drive variants. It’s not a revolution, but in the EV world, incremental gains matter.

Safety tech also gets a boost. Ford’s Clear Exit Assist—essentially a digital lookout for cyclists, scooters, and unsuspecting pedestrians—joins the standard ADAS suite. It’s the kind of feature that sounds minor until it saves you from an awkward insurance claim or worse. Alongside it sits the usual alphabet soup of modern driver aids: adaptive cruise control, pre-collision assist, blind-spot monitoring, and evasive steering support.

And then there’s Ford BlueCruise, the company’s hands-off, eyes-on highway driving system. Already a standout in the Mach-E, it continues to expand across Ford’s European lineup, hinting at a future where long-distance driving becomes less about effort and more about supervision.

Two new paint options—Race Red and the intriguingly named Adriatic Blue-Green—round out the updates, offering buyers a chance to either shout or subtly flex.

The Mach-E was always a controversial addition to the Mustang family, but editions like the GT California Special suggest Ford isn’t interested in playing it safe. Instead, it’s doubling down on the idea that heritage isn’t about clinging to the past—it’s about reinterpreting it. And if that reinterpretation happens to come with instant torque and a West Coast color palette, well, there are worse ways to evolve an icon.

Source: Ford

News

Priyanka Chopra Jonas Joins Bentley

In an era when luxury automakers are just as likely to trade in storytelling as they are horsepower, Bentley Motors has found its latest narrator—and she doesn’t come from the paddock. She comes from the soundstage.

Enter Priyanka Chopra Jonas, the newly minted global brand ambassador whose résumé reads less like a casting sheet and more like a portfolio of modern influence: actor, producer, author, entrepreneur, and global advocate. For Bentley, this isn’t just another celebrity endorsement. It’s a calculated shift toward something softer, more human—and, arguably, more relevant.

The campaign, dropping this weekend with a longer-form film to follow, leans hard into authenticity. Shot in a documentary style at Sony Studios in Los Angeles, it pairs Chopra Jonas with Greg Williams—one half of Bentley’s recently appointed creative duo alongside Mai Ikuzawa. The result isn’t so much an ad as it is a conversation, one where the car plays a supporting role rather than the lead.

That car, by the way, is the Bentley Continental GT—a machine that, much like its new ambassador, trades on presence rather than noise. It’s there in the film, woven into the background, never demanding attention but always deserving it. Think less “hero shot,” more “co-star.”

Chopra Jonas speaks of craftsmanship the way Bentley engineers might talk about hand-stitched hides or milled aluminum: with reverence for the process. “There’s an intentionality behind every detail,” she says, aligning herself with a brand that has built its modern identity on precisely that idea. It’s a neat bit of symmetry—her world of filmmaking and Bentley’s world of coachbuilding both hinge on the same principle: nothing great happens by accident.

From Bentley’s perspective, the move makes sense. The brand has been steadily expanding its roster of ambassadors, but this feels like a pivot from traditional luxury signaling to cultural relevance. Marketing Director Ben Whattam calls it “a fresh energy,” though what he really means is that Bentley is betting on personality over polish.

And it might just work. Because while the Continental GT remains a masterclass in grand touring—equal parts speed, serenity, and stitched perfection—the real story here isn’t about the car. It’s about the people who give it meaning.

In a segment long dominated by specs and status, Bentley is trying something different: letting the narrative breathe.

Source: Bentley