The first electric Bentley will arrive in 2026. We wrote it in March (initially the plan was to launch it in 2025) and today the English company confirmed it in an online presentation in which the new President and CEO, Frank-Steffen Walliser, and the members of the Bentley board of directors gave an update the press about the Beyond100 plan which is now called “Beyond100+”.
Without going into details Walliser anticipated that it will be a completely new car, one to be exact “Urban SUV”. But what does Bentley intend with the word “Urban”? The CEO explained that it will be a slightly more compact SUV than the “usual” Bentleys (it will be less than 5 meters long) and will offer greater visibility and versatility because it will have an important mission: attract new customers.
“They don’t want to offer more information at the moment,” the CEO said, however, although the numbers remain confidential he guaranteed that the autonomy will be “surprising” and the charging speed “extraordinarily good”.
Furthermore, given that “sound is very important” for those who love cars, especially sports and luxury ones, Matthias Rabe, member of the board of directors for engineering, anticipated that Bentley’s electric will have a unique sound (“With electrification, we don’t want to copy anything or anyone”) and it will be “exhilarating”.
Not just electric Bentleys
Speaking of the first electric Bentley, the managers also confirmed that the entire range will be battery-powered from 2035. The plan remains the same, however the CEO was keen to point out that the company will continue to invest in new models, including plug-in hybrids, and that Bentley will continue to produce ICE cars as long as the market requires it and the laws allow it.
After all, Bentley also believes a lot in eFuel, as it reiterated today and demonstrated with a special test of the Continental GT Speed.
Source: it.motor1.com
