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Bentley engines are some of the biggest, most powerful old-school units on the market, and that's not about to change. This, despite earlier reports that Crewe was considering utilizing diesel engines or even the powerplant from the Bugatti Veyron, which now appear off the table... in the short run at least.

Although Bugatti and Bentley are now united under common leadership, Bugatti is rumored to be working on its own luxury limousine, so shoehorning its engine into the production Arnage could cut down its legs prematurely. As for the diesel, Bentley's position remains that customers aren't ready for oil-burning Bentleys at this point. In the short term, then, Bentley customers will just have to make do with 6.75-liter V8s and 6-liter W12s. Dang.

Click the Bentley Brooklands' 6.75-liter V12 to view in our hi-res image gallery.

Of all the premium brands to go diesel, Bentley seems the most logical. Its vehicles are already the closest things to locomotives and yachts on four wheels, guzzling massive quantities of gasoline by the block. And as Marketing Director Adrian Hallmark pointed out in a recent interview with AutoTelegraaf, Bentley customers demand torquey, low-revving engines. Not to mention that Bentley is under the tutelage of Audi, which has cultivated for itself a pioneering image in modern diesel technology.

Although Hallmark, in a very un-"Hallmark Moment", claims customer demand isn't there yet for a diesel Bentley, reports suggest that Crewe is considering picking the V10 or V12 TDI out of the Volkswagen Group parts bin. However, Hallmark says that neither of these engines could fit into the Continental's engine bay. The Arnage/Azure/Brooklands range could, however, make a suitable starting point for Bentley's shift to burning the midnight oil.

Gallery: Bentley Brooklands