Bentley made it known some time ago that it is working on its first all-electric model, which is set to debut next year. This week, the company unveiled the EXP 15 concept, which previews both that EV and the brand's all-electric future.
And the concept is quite a conversation starter. There are its lines and distinctive front end, but there’s also the fact it’s a three-seat car with two doors on the left side and only one on the right.
Because you have to call it something, the company refers to the EXP 15 as a sedan; it could just easily gone with coupe, since it has only one door on one of the sides, not to mention a sloping roofline.
Inspiration from way back
The model’s designers were inspired by the 1930 Bentley Speed Six three-seater, dubbed the “Blue Train” in reference to company owner Woolf Barnato famously racing a French train with the car.
At the front, the car leads with a nose completely different from what we're used to seeing from Bentley. It's illuminated, decorative and so different that the brand's signature is scarcely recognizable. The hood is very long, as it was on vintage models, but instead of an engine under it, there are storage compartments, accessible via central-hinged doors.
The interior
Here we find a seat behind the (right-side) driver and another to its left. Bentley even included a dog bed located front left, next to the driver’s seat passenger seat. At the back, a tailgate opens up to reveal integrated picnic chairs.
There are also screens, of course, but Bentley makes sure to include more traditional elements, so there are buttons for the climate control system, as well as textiles from a 250-year-old English company.
Bentley says the concept sits somewhere between its current models the Continental GT coupé, Flying Spur saloon and Bentayga SUV.
“The beauty of a concept car is not just to position our new design language, but to test where the market’s going. It’s clear that SUVs are a growing segment… but the trickiest segment is the sedan because it’s changing. Some customers want a classic ‘three-box’ sedan shape, others a ‘one-box’ design, and others again something more elevated. So this was a chance for us to talk to people and get a feeling.”
- Robin Page, Bentley’s head exterior designer
We’ll have to see how the concept evolves as it moves towards an eventual production model. As the designer acknowledged, the company is sounding out customer reactions, and their feedback will certainly lead to adjustments.