Following the Volkswagen Group takeover of Porsche, Porsche has been assigned not only to come up with a new, revised platform for its upcoming next-gen Panamera, but also for future Bentley sedans.
Sitting underneath the Volkswagen Group umbrella certainly has its perks. Currently, Bentley sedans have been using the heavy Volkswagen ‘D1’ platform, which originally starting life underpinning the Volkswagen Phaeton.
The next Panamera will use a reworked chassis known as the MSB platform. It’s understood it will be made of steel and aluminium to assist in keeping weight down.
For Porsche, this seems like a logical and typical thing to do, keeping weight down. For Bentley and its new sedans, weight reduction will be a new direction for the super-luxurious brand.
As we know, shedding weight not only helps with performance, but also handling, and, perhaps more importantly, fuel economy.
The new chassis is set to showcase a more rearward engine mounting location as well to boost handling and balance. This would again be a slightly different direction for Bentley.
As for the power, reports say the current and quite old Bentley 6.75-litre V12 unit will be phased out by 2013 making way for a new Volkswagen V12. The Bentley Mulsanne convertible is likely to be the last model to use the old donk.
