New EXP15 is a radical vision of Bentley's future
Latest concept hints at incoming all-electric production model - and there's even space for pooch
When Bentley unveiled its new badge last week ahead of a concept reveal, it was hard to imagine anything too bold. A lot of recent previews and limited-run models like the Batur and Bacalar have been hard to summon too much enthusiasm for, given their very close associations with production models. No chance of that this time around, though. The three-seat, three-door, fully-electric Bentley EXP 15 looks absolutely extraordinary. It’s said to provide clues for Crewe’s first EV, coming next year. Just imagine the comments on a twin test with the Jaguar Type 00.
Presented with something this provocative, it’s hard to know exactly where to start. So we’ll begin as Bentley does. This is a ‘design vision for the future transforming inspiration from heritage into a thoroughly modern concept.’ So there is still a big upright grille like any other Bentley (despite the battery power behind it), a long bonnet and bulging rear arches to hint at the muscle beneath (that’s Bentley’s ‘Resting Beast’ design principle, no less). There’s also said to be inspiration from a 1930 Bentley, commonly known as the Blue Train, because that had three seats as well. A thousand bonus PH points to anyone who knows that car’s full title, the Speed Six Gurney Nutting Sportsman coupe. They really knew how to do names back then.
While the outside is going to be a conversation starter - Bentley freely admits it intended that - the inside of the EXP 15 is the more interesting part of the concept. Having two seats behind one in the front affords ‘greater luxury in transit for the special few’; the extra space means more storage options inside, including even for pets - the most special of any occupants. The boot becomes picnic seating, of course. Probably of more relevance to what’s coming from Bentley’s EV is a focus on combining physical interior details with digital elements. If you can take your eyes from the lamps or the pooch inside, you’ll notice a pretty normal steering wheel, plus beautifully presented pedals, knobs and dials. The layout is adventurous, but the key touchpoints are reassuringly traditional. Building on the rotating display seen in recent models, the EXP 15, the entire full-width dash here can have its digital display switched off to show a veneered wood surface.
“We think people are going to get fed up with a fully digital experience and are pining for physical mechanical elements too”, said Robin Page, Bentley Director of Design. “By combining the two, you can get the best of both worlds. It’s almost like wearing a beautiful mechanical watch on one wrist and a digital watch on the other. Imagine the magical experience you would get if mechanical and digital are overlaid together.”
Expect lots of similarly lavish materials in the real thing as well. The EXP 15 features a fine silk jacquard textile from Gainsborough, a Fox Brothers wool textile and a new woven metal mesh known as ‘Acrylic Couture’. Bentley’s production EV is unlikely to feature a seat that can move from being the driver’s co-pilot to the rear passenger’s best bud (and exit at 45 degrees), but it could well feature an interior layout and richness similar to this. That seems like great news.
Whether it looks like the EXP 15 on the outside remains to be seen. Bentley says all five of its core design principles feature on this concept. They are ‘Upright Elegance’, for starters, an idea that the front silhouette of a Bentley should show a gently curved vertical line; related to it is number two, Iconic Grille - you can probably figure that one out. It’s surely likely to feature to some extent on a production car, to mark it out as Crewe-built. Bentley principle three is ‘Endless Bonnet Line’; the EXP 15 may not have a huge combustion engine under the bonnet any more, but it sure as heck looks like it does. Note here how that line goes all the way from bonnet to the C-pillar. What may once have housed a 6.75 V8 now takes luggage, with piano-style hinged engine covers opening up for the storage space up front.
The aforementioned Resting Beast is number four; a Bentley shouldn’t aggressively lean forward or back, apparently - instead it conveys big cat power in the rear haunches. There’s undoubtedly some curvature back there, although your eye may be distracted by the new rear light bar. Good job, then, that Resting Beast is said to be best understood from the side or above. ‘Prestigious Shield’ is number five, and that refers here to the rear - and where the new badge sits on the EXP 15. We’ll let you off having not noticed that yet; there’s quite a lot to take in. More than five metres of it, in fact. Pallas Gold seems like a shoo-in for the colour palette; it evokes the nickel of the Speed Six, and its ultra-thin aluminium pigment means various radar and Lidar systems work well with it.
The lighting feels like another bit of the concept that could make it to EV reality next year, especially with LEDs in the grille that aim to look like an old seat quilting pattern. The use of slim rear lights to frame the new logo feels like it could work as well. Aero features of the EXP 15, including active spoilers and diffusers, don't seem out of the question either when you consider that a big electric Bentley will need a big range (and all the help it can get). Speaking of the technical side, its maker says the concept ‘is conceived' to feature dual motors and all-wheel drive, plus boast ‘a long range and recharging speeds commensurate with the convenience customers have come to expect of a Bentley.’
Page added: “The beauty of a concept car is not just to position our new design language, but to test where the market’s going. It’s clear that SUVs are a growing segment and we understand the GT market… but the trickiest segment is the sedan because it’s changing. Some customers want a classic ‘three-box’ shape, others a ‘one-box’ design, and others again want something more elevated. So this was a chance for us to talk to people and get a feeling.” Now’s the chance for everyone else to have their say - the floor is yours…
king hell!The interior looks interesting and modern, like you might anticipate a Bentley with avant garde styling, but with some innovation & thought, rather than just festooning it with touch screens as is often the case nowadays.
Also the Acrylic couture.... How can it be a metal mesh if it's acrylic?
Anyway, stick it up your arse Bentley.
But is that a transmission tunnel all the way through the middle? Are they hedging their bets, and allowing for the possibility of a bit of ICE to maintain sales volumes in the petrostates?
https://www.reddit.com/r/CarTalkUK/comments/1lut2c...
Hadn't twigged it is a three door. Will need some strong hinges.
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