What’s the Secret Behind Bentley’s Ethanol Supercar?
Heady numbers, to be sure – and I speculated that the new tech would have something to do with the way the Bentley’s turbocharged W12 managed boost, taking advantage of ethanol’s higher octane and resistance to detonation. While I was technically correct (the best kind of correct), a more complete description of Bentley’s upcoming green tech goes something like this: Ethanol-boosted direct injection (EBDI). By using the recently-announced direct injection technology developed by VW group supplier Ricardo, the engineers at Bentley are going to offer an engine that turns the gas/ethanol equation upside-down, making MORE power than a comparable gas-only engine, and allowing Bentley owners the flexibility to use whatever blend of fuel is locally available (seemingly up to 100% ethanol). More credibility is given to this theory by Ricardo themselves, who played an integral part in developing the highly efficient direct injection technology found in Audi’s dominant, direct-injected LMP racec
