The first all-electric Bentley is due in 2025 and by the following year the firm pledges that all models will be electrified in some way, either fully electric or with plug-in hybrid (PHEV) drivetrains of the sort already available with the Bentayga. The first of those, thought to be a plug-in V8 Flying Spur, is due in 2021. Then by 2030 Bentley will change to battery-electric cars only, with the company aiming to be entirely carbon neutral the same year. The Crewe production plant is already certified carbon neutral.
“Within a decade, Bentley will transform from a 100-year-old luxury car company to a new, sustainable, wholly ethical role model for luxury,” said Bentley chairman and chief executive Adrian Hallmark. He said that reinventing the company from what is currently the world’s largest 12-cylinder engine manufacturer to a new “sustainable luxury benchmark” required a “a paradigm shift throughout our business”.
Clues to the first battery Bentley lie in the dramatic EXP 100 GT concept unveiled last year. The massive (5.8m long) electric GT with up to 1,300PS (956kW) from its four motors was intended to show how grand touring could look in 2035. While a production facsimile of this may be unlikely, its electric technology, sustainably sourced materials, craftsmanship and Bentleyesque sense of grandness are all thought to preview what is in store.