It hasn’t been all that long since Bentley launched its latest third-generation Continental GT, but they’re already showing us what’s possibly in store for the not too distant future.
The new EXP 100 GT Concept “reimagines the Grand Tourer for the world of 2035,” states Bentley in a press release, the swoopy new design exercise boasting a large grille surrounded by big circular headlights, a long elegant hood, a two-door coupe body style with a sweptback roofline, much like the current Continental GT, but the prototype’s grille is illuminated almost as brightly as the dazzling headlamps, its eye-shaped taillights are reminiscent of today’s GT albeit much larger and detailed in OLEDs, and its hind end protrudes much farther rearward than anything we’ve seen from Bentley since the 1950s-era R-Type Continental.
Today’s Continental GT uses a lot of aluminum highlighted with carbon-fibre in some trims, but the EXP 100 GT is mostly carbon-fibre and aluminum, while its uniquely sculpted body panels come coated in “paint made from recycled rice husks,” adds Bentley. It no doubt takes a lot of rice husks to cover 5.8 metres (19.0 feet) of car, not to mention 2.4 metres (7.9 feet) from side-to-side, but Bentley wasn’t about to make a small statement as part of its 100th anniversary celebrations.
Hence the “100” in the EXP 100 GT’s name, the automaker having come to life in North London during 1919.
“Today, on our Centenary, we demonstrate our vision of the future of our Marque, with the Bentley EXP 100 GT – a modern and definitive Grand Tourer designed to demonstrate that the future of luxury mobility is as inspirational and aspirational as the last 100 years,” said Bentley Chairman and CEO Adrian Hallmark. “Bentley has, and will continue to enhance and enrich every single journey and the lives of every single person who travels in, or has the honour to be a part of creating our extraordinary products.”
As visually captivating as the EXP 100 GT is, there’s a lot more going on than just dramatic styling. Indeed, it represents much of the advanced ideas and ideals that Bentley hopes for its future. The car is all-electric, expected of future-think concept cars these days, although instead of the usual single battery and one or two electric motor combination the EXP 100 GT’s “Next Generation Traction Drive” system mounts a single electric motor in each of its four wheels, which provide electronic torque vectoring while combining for an astounding 1,100 pound-feet of torque (1,500 Nm).
Bentley claims standstill to 100km/h in “less than 2.5 seconds,” which is shockingly quick when factoring in just how big this car is. Some of this can be attributed to a relatively light curb weight of only 1,900 kg (4,189 lbs), which is a lot less than today’s Continental GT that hits the scales at 2,244 kg (4,947 lbs), much thanks to previously noted lightweight materials usage, while Bentley projects a maximum range of 700 km (435 miles), which would presuppose it wasn’t cruising at its 300 km/h (186 mph) top speed.
This impressive range and performance is due to “future battery technology” with “intelligent power and charge management,” says Bentley, which will provide “five times the conventional energy density,” thus recharging the battery from near empty to 80 percent in just 15 minutes. Incidentally, optimal charging gets taken care of automatically by the Bentley Personal Assistant, a bit of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) tech that acts like a personal valet for all EXP 100 GT occupants.
“The Bentley EXP 100 GT represents the kind of cars we want to make in the future,” commented Stefan Sielaff, Director of Design. “Like those iconic Bentleys of the past, this car connects with its passengers’ emotions and helps them experience and safeguard the memories of the really extraordinary journeys they take.”
Another high-tech advancement promised in the EXP 100 GT is autonomous self-driving ability, transforming this driver’s car into a commuter’s dream. It’s cabin is just as pampering as any current Bentley offerings, with amply sized seats for two or four, plus all the leather, fabrics, glass, wood and metal expected from one of the most luxurious brands the world has to offer.
This said, while Bridge of Weir once again provides the EXP 100 GT’s hides, they’re an alternative material made from 100-percent bio-based winemaking byproducts, whereas the embroidered door panels are recyclable too, and made by UK-based Hand and Lock employing “traditional techniques that date back to 1767 and are used on Royal and Military Dress uniforms.” What’s more, the car’s interfaces aren’t covered in glass, but rather Cumbrian crystal, while 5,000-year-old peat bog-, lake- and river-sourced Copper Infused Riverwood is used for the interior’s trim, along with real aluminum and copper, this last combo apparently paying homage to an alloy developed by W.O. Bentley for the BR1 Aero engine piston, which played a major aeronautical role during World War 1.
The mostly clear rooftop seen in photos is used for naturally harvested light, but the innovative roof also synthesizes light via “prisms that collect light and transfer it into the cabin using fibre optics.” At the opposite end of the spectrum, you’ll want to remove your shoes and socks just to wiggle your toes within the deep British Farmed Wool carpets, while embroidered cotton interior surfaces add to the recycled and recyclable atmosphere, making the EXP 100 GT a rolling test bed of sustainability.
Additional tech includes seats that incorporate intelligent, adaptable three-way biometrics, with positions that depend on whether you’re doing the driving or being driven. Yet more biometric sensors monitor the automatic climate control system as well, plus the passengers’ positions, and the exterior environment’s conditions before providing ultimate comfort, while additional biometric sensors are embedded throughout the cabin in order to track eye and head movements, blood pressures, etcetera in order to deliver a level of in-car comfort that far exceeds anything Bentley, or anyone else, currently offers. The cabin is even capable of automatically aerating its atmosphere with a sandalwood and moss fragrance.
Whether we’ll be able to experience this particular Bentley coupe by 2035 or not can’t be known outside of Bentley’s inner circle, but we should remember that automaker’s have to plan their upcoming models decades into the future, so something quite similar may be in the books.
The EXP 100 GT is certainly a vision of distinctive beauty that should be welcomed by car enthusiasts of any era, and is much truer to Bentley’s brand heritage than the kind of electrified, autonomous, monobox SUV/MPV-thingy they’re more likely to offer in 15 years’ time. Until we find out what’s actually coming down the line, make sure to check out our complete gallery above and nice collection of videos below.
Bentley EXP 100 GT Concept Car Reveal Highlights | Bentley (0:49):
Bentley EXP 100 GT Concept car reveal Livestream | Bentley (28:49):
The Bentley EXP 100 GT: The Future of Grand Touring | Bentley (2:52):
24 Hours to go before Bentley reveals the Future of Grand Touring | Bentley (0:41):
Story credits: Trevor Hofmann
Photo credits: Bentley