Bentley to join electric car race

Bentley will unveil its electric future, almost exactly six months after teasing carsales.com.au with exclusive news on its upcoming plug-in plan.

The famed British luxury brand will use its centenary celebration at this weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed to unveil its EXP 100 GT concept, which it promises will be a “transformative zero emissions concept car” and “the future of grand touring”.

Bentley has only provided a single picture and a 40-second teaser video ahead of the concept car’s world debut on July 10 — its 100th birthday, showing little more than the illuminated scuff plate inside the door.

But the company’s engineering chief, Dr Werner Tietz, gave much more insight during a visit to Australia for the Bathurst 12-Hour sports car race in early February.

“We are thinking about introducing one model which is completely electric,” he said at the time.

“That will be a new model. Not a derivative, a new one. That’s our plan.

“It’s easier to do it that way because the package is easier. It is quite difficult to build a flat electrified car.”

Tietz was delivering strong hints about the car that is now known as the EXP 100 and will become a future production car at Bentley.

“It has to be luxury. We are thinking about an extraordinary luxury car for big cities. So this is the direction,” he said.

“We don’t build a small car. It will be a luxury car with enough space to sit in.”

So, although the EXP 100 is pitched as a grand tourer, its battery-electric drivetrain means it will be free of local emissions and untouchable as many of the world’s major cities look at future bans on combustion-engined vehicles.

The newcomer is the latest in a series of EXP concept cars that track back through teasers for the Continental GT as the EXP 10 in 2015 and even the Le Mans-winning EXP 8 sports car prototype that won the French endurance classic in 2003.

This time around, Bentley describes the EXP 100 GT as a “physical embodiment of the future of the Bentley brand”, with both technology and craftsmanship.

It also says it will be capable of autonomous operation or “enjoying the thrill of driving”.

Everything in the pre-Goodwood information provides confirmation of Tietz’s comments at Bathurst, right through to the thinking behind the project.

“It’s our vision of a luxury car in the future. It will show where we are going to, where we are heading. But, of course, with the relationship to the history of Bentley,” Tietz said.

But there is still more to come, as the engineering chief also spoke at Bathurst about the overall electrification of Bentley.

“Our target by 2025 is to have at least one electrified version in every model line,” he said.

“We are well on the way to plug-in hybrid. We think it is the best solution for Bentley at the moment, with emission-free driving in towns and still performance outside the cities.”