Celebrating its 100th birthday in grand style, Bentley created a strikingly modern, intensely opulent EXP 100 GT. More importantly, for such a luxurious symbol for high end automotive manufacturing, the Bentley EXP 100 Grand Tourer joins the high technology of artificial intelligence with the more earthly considerations of sustainability, using recycled rice-husks and wine-production waste. In short, Bentley’s all-electric grand tourer is a glimpse of an extravagant yet enduring future.
Exquisitely designed, Bentley’s electric Grand Tourer dominates any space it inhabits visually but at 5.8 meters long and almost 2.4 meters wide, it is also an undeniably formidable presence. The EXP 100 GT demands to be seen and experienced.
While the Bentley electric grand tourer looks unmistakably an automobile of the future, there are enough signature Bentley aesthetic leitmotifs which render the futuristic EXP 100 GT instantly recognisable as a product of the British luxury marque.
While the Bentley EXP 100 GT follows the very contemporary (albeit extrapolated) trends of ever increasing massive mesh grilles, the all-electric grand tourer’s grille is no ordinary point of air intake, instead, the mesh is high-tech “illuminating matrix” comprised of 6,000 LED bulbs, complementing the more traditional Bentley two-rounded “eyes” for lighting those twilight roads. Despite its undeniably futuristic countenance, this design element is actually a hat-tip to an amazing milestone in the brand’s history – the 1930s Bentley Blower. Then of course, everything is topped off with the signature hood-mounted Flying B for those who aren’t really car aficionados.
Powered by four motors, the Bentley’s electric Grand Tourer enjoys full torque vectoring, making efficient use of its peak 1100 lb-ft. torque output. Completing its century sprint in 2.5 seconds, Bentley’s all-electric grand tourer is no slouch, hitting a maximum of 300 kmh. Commanding an impressive range of 700 kilometres thanks to its super energy-dense batteries. But that’s not the kicker, the real trick is that these batteries can be charged to 80% in just 15 minutes. Comparatively, it takes existing Tesla Roadster batteries 6 to 9 hours to achieve a full charge or 4 kilometres range per hour of charging. Not exactly “charge and go” for competing car marques and ideally, the Bentley electric GT comes closer to daily functional use akin to combustion-hybrids.
Despite its looming presence, the EXP 100 GT weighing 1,900 kg is relatively lightweight thanks largely to the use of aluminium and carbon fibre for its exterior shell. The sophisticated gold-hue cabin interior is the result of 5,000 year-old copper-infused riverwood sourced from eco-organisation – The Fenland Black Oak Project, while the iconic quilted “leather” isn’t really leather but 100% bio-based leather-like materials upcycled from wine making waste products, complemented with British wool carpets and organic cotton surfaces.
The Bentley EXP 100 GT portends a concept for an extravagant future but also a sustainable one.
