Wow!

That is indeed the best word to start this article with, as Bentley's new EXP 100 GT concept is nothing if not attention grabbing. It's a long, low and wide two-door, three-seat vision of Bentley's vision for 2035 luxury motoring and it was unveiled today, July 10, 2019, to mark 100 years in business for the British marque.

Is that copper?

Yes, it is. Bentley is using this concept to explore the use of new materials, outside and inside the car, and copper, along with aluminium, is used to accentuate aspects of the exterior design. It's seen to be natural and sustainable, a theme that runs through the EXP 100 GT as Bentley taps into the environmentally aware zeitgeist. That shimmering paintwork, for example, uses pigment created from a by-product of the rice industry, while inside, there's wool, cotton, a leather-like material made from a by-product of the wine industry, crystal and gorgeous copper-infused wood that has apparently been preserved for 5,000 years.

A traditional Bentley, so?

Only insofar as luxury and craftsmanship are concerned, as no Bentley past or present has had a cabin like the concept's. The three seats use adaptable Biometric Seating technology to alter their shape and position, there's an air purification system in the boot and it even uses artificial intelligence to adapt to the needs of the car's occupants. The driving modes are a little unusual, in that they focus on recording experiences and journeys and then either bringing as much of the exterior world into the car as possible or blocking it out completely, depending on the passengers' whims. It can essentially be turned into a darkened personal mobile cinema, too.

Using autonomous tech?

That's right. The 'driver' can choose for the car to do all the work, though we're heartened to see that Bentley assumes its owners may want to drive occasionally in the future, so the concept has a steering wheel. Not only that, it uses torque vectoring and four powerful electric motors to create up to 1,500Nm of torque. Bentley quotes 0-62mph in just 2.5 seconds and a top speed of 186mph. Perhaps more staggering is its assertion that this coupe would weigh only 1,900kg. That's thanks to next-generation batteries with much higher energy density. These theoretically give the EXP 100 GT a range of 435 miles between charges, while Bentley reckons it should be possible to top up the battery pack to 80 per cent capacity in just 15 minutes.

Sounds fanciful...

Indeed it does, which goes to show that this showpiece is just that, an indulgent look at how Bentleys of tomorrow may turn out. It's not based on reality and we don't expect a production version of this car to appear at a motor show soon. However, if Bentley's engineers and designers take inspiration from it, the next 100 years of the company's future should be very interesting indeed.

Shane O' Donoghue - 10 Jul 2019