What's all this about?
Two years ago, Bentley revealed the EXP 10 Speed 6 Concept to the world at the Geneva Motor Show; it previewed a new two-seat sports car entry point into the coveted world of Bentley ownership. This year, at the same event, it has whipped the roof off the EXP 10 and given us the EXP 12 Speed 6e Concept - and the important bit is that lower-case 'e' added in the name.
How so?
It signifies that this is an electric Bentley, and fully electric at that - no hybrid measures here. Of course, it's a long way from ever making it into showrooms, because Bentley decrees that the EXP 12 should be able to get from London to Paris, or Milan to Monaco, on a single charge. And to do that, it would have to use high-speed inductive charging, which is simply not part of the road infrastructure in the present day. Instead, it's a study piece designed to gather feedback on Bentley's EV approach.
Nice though, isn't it?
Oh, undoubtedly so. It has a magnificent, far-fetched dashboard design hewn from a single piece of glass and a '6e' logo in the front grille that illuminates bright white when the car is in motion. But it's simply a styling piece for now, rather than a genuine indication of a near-production-ready vehicle.
So how is Bentley going to electrify its range?
The company says it is committed to have electric vehicles in its line-up and the first step on the road to an EV future is to turn the Bentayga SUV into a plug-in hybrid, sometime in 2018. Until then, we can only look at the gorgeous EXP 12 Speed 6e and dream...
Matt Robinson - 7 Mar 2017