Leaving no doubt that the green car movement is reaching into the furthest recesses of the automobile industry, Bentley Motors—the British-based ultra-luxury brand—has adopted a pro-biofuels policy. The carmaker, owned by Volkswagen, produces some of the world’s most expensive automobiles, but that doesn’t exempt the company from moving in an eco-friendly direction.
The Bentley Azure is the least efficient compact car on the market, according to the EPA. The suggested retail price is 4,990.
According to “Bentley and the Future of Biofuels,” a white paper issued by Bentley in December 2008, “engineering work is already underway and is on target to deliver
flexfuel vehicles across our fleet, with the first variant available in 2009.” The company is committed to producing “a full range bioethanol compatible vehicles before 2012.”
Bentley currently holds the dubious distinction of producing the least efficient vehicle in three different segments:
- The 12-cylinder 6.0-liter Bentley Continental GTC is EPA’s lowest rated subcompact with 10 mpg in the city and 17 on the highway.
- The 12-cylinder 6.7-liter Bentley Azure, rated at 9 mpg city and 15 mpg highway, is the least efficient compact car.
- The biggest gas-guzzler in EPA’s large car segment, the 8-cylinder 6.7-liter Bentley Arnage RL is also rated 9 mpg in the city and 15 mpg on the highway.
Bentley’s efficiency levels and environmental efforts are not going to make a significant impact on the world’s energy crisis one way or the other. Bentley and other manufacturers of luxury cars don’t produce many vehicles. Nonetheless, Bentley is under pressure to take steps toward greener motoring—or face an anti-environment stigma. “It’s about corporate responsibility,” Brian Gush, Bentley’s chief engineer and head of powertrain, told Hybridcars.com. “This is something we must do. Our buyers demand it. The industry demands it. And it’s the right thing.”
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