The all-green new product from the luxury British brand will debut in 2025. The company is keeping the name of the future “electric train” a secret for now.
It is known that the Bentley electric vehicle line, according to the plan, will consist of five models by 2030. At the same time, in the summer of 2022 it became known that the implementation of the project to create the first “electric train” of the brand was not going smoothly. Then it became known that the “green” first-born would not go into production in 2025, as originally planned. It is assumed that the premiere of the new product will take place next year in any case, but the model will reach the assembly line, as well as the first buyers, in 2026.
The British publication Autocar spoke with current Bentley design director Robin Page about what the brand's first electric car will be like. Let us remind you that the name of the future new product is still kept secret. Judging by the words of the top manager, Bentley's first electric car will have a unique design, which will have a number of noticeable differences from the brand's current corporate identity.
Robin Page noted that electric cars do not need such an element as a radiator grille, so designers have the opportunity to design the front end in a new way, as well as “play” with lighting technology. He said the manufacturer would “fail” if the first all-electric model looked like another heir to the Bentley family line. But at the same time, the company promised not to ignore the “iconic elements” inherent in all models of the brand in order to preserve their inherent individuality.
According to the chief designer, the project for Bentley's first electric car is being developed in close cooperation with Audi (both companies are part of the German Volkswagen group). He added that «this gives us opportunities that we didn't have before when we worked with Porsche» (the brand is also owned by VW).
There is still little information about the future new product. The company did not even indicate the body type, but as we assumed earlier, the new product will be something between a coupe and a crossover with solid dimensions and a spacious interior. It is expected that the closest technical relative of this model will be Audi's flagship electric car (the name of the project is Artemis).
Interior of the Bentley EXP 100 concept GT
Previously it became known that both new products will be based on the PPE platform developed jointly by Audi and Porsche engineers, to which elements of the new unified Volkswagen SSP architecture will be added. Official details about the trolley and technology of electric vehicles of the German concern brands will appear later. According to preliminary data, the peak output of the power plant of the first Bentley “electric” will exceed 1300 hp, and such a model will take about two seconds to accelerate from zero to “hundreds”.
In the background development of completely “green” models, Bentley last year announced goodbye to the 6.0-liter W12 twin-turbo petrol engine. The final copies of this engine went to the limited edition Bentley Batur coupe, the power was 750 hp. (maximum torque – 1000 Nm).