You’ve got to love an early ‘teaser’ shot from a car manufacturer, but this one is kind of exciting because the car lurking beneath these silk covers gives us a hint of what to expect from Bentley’s first ever pure-electric car.
Described as a Luxury Urban SUV, Bentley maintains that its new EV will create “an entirely new segment” of car. We don’t know many details about the new electric Bentley, but the British maker has confirmed that it will be under 5.0-metres long and will be capable of charging from 0- to 100 miles of range in seven minutes.
On hearing all of this at Electrifying towers, our first thought was... 'Isn’t 5.0-metres quite big for an urban car'? I mean, a BMW iX is under 5.0 metres long! But hey, this is Bentley, and let’s not forget that an electric car from this brand – urban or not – will be most popular in markets like China and North America, where a 5.0-metre luxury SUV might just about be considered compact(ish) and ideal for driving about town.
We asked Bentley what made it an urban SUV, and Dr. Matthias Rabe, member of the board for Research and Development at Bentley, told us that "it's an urban car because it is lower than the Bentayga, has a very good turning circle and agility, while you can still go long distances and you can go off-road. But, due to the size and ability, we would still class it as an SUV."
There's no name confirmed for the new Bentley electric car, yet, but it has said that we can expect to see and drive the car before the end of 2026. That should mean that the Bentley EV will arrive at a very similar time to the new electric Jaguar, although the electric Range Rover will likely be a more direct rival to the Bentley.
We don’t know much more than that, but judging by the silhouette of the car we can expect a fairly low, almost estate-like roofline with big arches and a raised ride height to give it that ‘Luxury Urban SUV’ feel.
Expect a long range of around 400 miles or more, as well as that ultra-rapid charging, since we can’t imagine Bentley customers going for a short- or middling WLTP range on a pure electric car like this.
The brand has seen decent demand for its plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models, but the company has also announced that it will continue to produce non-electrified performance models, and will extend production of its PHEVs until 2035 or beyond in order to respond to global customer demand.
Regardless of market demand, and whether this classes an urban car or not (we’re a bit sceptical on that…), the new electric Bentley is going to have to deliver maximum convenience and luxury for its audience. We can’t wait to find out more about it!
