Bentley Debuts Bonkers Electric Concept With 1,400 Horsepower

Bentley celebrates its 100th anniversary with a vision of the ultimate luxury EV.

Bentley, a venerable luxury British automaker known for its opulent interiors and big engines, just unveiled an autonomous all-electric concept with a ludicrous amount of power to celebrate its 100th anniversary. 

We’re talking 1,400 hundred horses in a coupe that, at 20 feet long and 8 feet wide, is bigger than most SUVs. Four electric motors send it to 60 mph in a hypercar-worthy time of just 2.5 seconds. 

Granted, the so-called EXP 100 GT is NOT a forthcoming production model, but a glimpse at what Bentley grand tourers will look like in 2035.

That generous timeline allows for countless other radical features. The doors pivot out and up, and the rear has a “horseshoe”-shaped taillight made of a 3D OLED touch screen that can be programmed with different effects. 

A glass roof embedded with prisms collects sunlight and uses fiber optics to illuminate the interior. Speaking of, the cabin boasts wild materials liked 5,000-year old, copper-infused river wood, farmed wool carpets, a “leather-like” seating material constructed from vineyard by-products, and sustainably-sourced cotton finishes. 

Those elements are all part of Bentley’s plan for “sustainable future luxury.” There’s also a weird cartridge delivery system under the front hood that delivers “items requested by the car’s AI” to the center console in place of an engine.

Honestly, we’ve barely begun to cover Bentley’s optimistic plans for EXP 100 GT. 

Per CNET’s Road Show, 

Bentley has absolutely gone to town with a wealth of features ranging from the sublime to the scarcely believable. It has a custom scent, leather made from the offshoots of the wine industry and paint made from a poisonous byproduct of the rice industry.

There are even active aero wheels and tires that can change the shape and tread pattern of both the wheels and tires on command using piezoelectric motors to optimize grip in a variety of weather conditions.

In self-driving mode, the steering wheel can retract, the front seats swivel around, and you can take advantage of Bentley’s personal assistant. Think Siri or Alexa on steroids, with the car delivering information based on what you happen to be observing through the windows or windscreen any given time.

The glass roof can also be completely transparent or opaque, allowing you enjoy some sense of open air motoring, or increased privacy.

It can, for example, record the light characteristics of a sunset on any particular journey, and then “replay” the light from this journey in the car, allowing you to experience similar conditions in the car, regardless of the time of day.

We’ll believe it when we see it.