Long gone are the days when Bentley was just a cheap Rolls Royce. These days the luxury marque owned by Volkswagen is selling thousands of cars per year, mostly in the US to you-know-who…

Not known for their frugality at the petrol pumps, Bentleys typically use only V8s and V12s to power their cars, featuring mainly superchargers as the protagonists in their quest for performance. The supercharger has been a Bentley trademark since the late 1920s. In 2012 however, things may change for Bentley as it strives to cut major emissions by then to 120 g/km of CO2 for every model in the range.

Consider that an Audi A3 1.9 TDI, BMW 118D and Fiat 500 1.2 Pop all come in at 119 g/km. Bentley says this goal is on a well-to-wheel basis, and that performance will not be affected by the new strategy. New “green” engines are the key to this, engines that will use renewable flex-fuels.

“By preparing our engines at an early stage for these fuels,” said Bentley CE Dr Franz-Josef Paefgen, “we believe we will help accelerate their adoption, as the supply and market for them develop. Taken together, the measures we are announcing will make the entire Bentley fleet capable of delivering less that 120 g/km by 2012.”

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