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Bentley Showcase the Future of Luxury Electric Cars
Bentley have barely been out of the news so far this year – and little surprise, given the marquee is celebrating its 100th anniversary.
Amid a series of celebratory events, including the unveiling of three special edition cars and a grand book chronicling the company’s history, the British luxury car brand have turned their eye to the future with a new luxury electric car concept.
Called the Bentley EXP 100 GT, the concept car is described as the “grand tourer of 2035”, and offers a fascinating glimpse into Bentley’s design direction for its future cars as well as confirmation of the company’s commitment to electrification and autonomous driving.
As far as the design goes, the Bentley EXP 100 GT resembles a futuristic version of the Continental GT. The front end of the car is dominated by a large grille which has the headlights and turn signals integrated into it.
The grille is made of 6000 LED bulbs while the taillights are augmented by additional 3D OLED screen that displays eye-catching animated patterns. The futuristic GT measures an impressive 19 feet and the body is made of carbon fibre and aluminium.
The interior is trimmed with copper-infused 5,000-year-old wood salvaged from peat bogs and the upholstery features fibre optics woven in for illuminated patterns.
The control unit heavily depends on Artificial Intelligence and the car has five different autonomous driving modes. The car is powered by four electric motors that offer a peak torque of 1,106 pound-feet. Bentley says the EXP 100 GT will hit 60 mph in under 2.5 seconds and have a top speed of 186 mph.
The battery pack is big enough to give the grand tourer a range of 435 miles of range and can be charged to 80% capacity in 15 minutes.
“The EXP 100 GT represents the kinds of cars we want to make in the future,” says Bentley’s director of design, Stefan Sielaff.
“Like those iconic Bentleys of the past, this car connects with its passengers’ emotions and helps them experience and safeguard the memories of the really extraordinary journeys they take.”
Bentley was founded by W. O. Bentley in Cricklewood, north London in 1919.