Bentley eyes electric Le Mans

Bentley boss Adrian Hallmark says the British luxury brand could be attracted back to the track. But a whole new form of racing would be the lure – not current racing classes, LMDh or even Formula E.

Speaking by video link at the local launch of the upgraded Bentley Bentayga V8, Hallmark made it clear the marque’s move to all-electric by 2030 dictated that a return to the track via internal combustion powertrains – even the newly created Le Mans Daytona hybrid (LMDh) formula – was not on.

The first Le Mans 24 Hour under the new LMDh rules will take place in 2022. Already the formula (in conjunction with LMH regs) has attracted Audi, Peugeot and Porsche back to Le Mans along with current World Endurance Championship title-holder, Toyota.

Hallmark was one of the architects of Bentley’s successful return to Le Mans in the Noughties. Using Volkswagen Audi Group racing smarts, the British brand won three 24 Hours of Le Mans on the trot in 2001, 2002 and 2003.

“I was the protagonist when I investigated the Le Mans the last time in 2001-3... It was a massive global opportunity to take Bentley from the shadows of another great brand [Rolls Royce] and put it back where it belonged – as a vibrant and potent performance-orientated brand that delivers exquisite refinement and luxury,” Hallmark explained.

“Le Mans was a great way of rekindling those stories and proving technical capability of the company... We're not a sports car company, but if we went anywhere to race, it should be Le Mans,” Hallmark explained.

“But if we're consistent with our strategy, and we've said that by 2030 we're fully electric, then going combustion engine racing, even with the level of hybridisation that is proposed in the new [LMDh] standards, is not in keeping with what we're trying to achieve.”

Hallmark asserts that it will take a new generation of racing at the famed French circuit to bring Bentley back.

“Our mission would be to be the vanguard of full electric endurance racing. I don't mean scale models. I mean full-size Bentleys.”

But that won’t happen any time soon, said Hallmark.

“Le Mans is in the DNA of Bentley. And actually, Bentley is in the DNA of Le Mans... It's a very fond and positive relationship,” he said.

“Unfortunately, the timescale for that [electric endurance racing] and the technology available, even with switchable batteries, is not immediate...

“We would consider racing again as a way of further projecting the brand and developing technology, but right now it's not in our list of things to do,” he stated.