Bentley has reimagined the sedan in a new electric concept that signals a more modernistic design language for the ultra-luxury brand. The EXP 15 is a higher-riding fastback more than five metres in length with a unique three-seat interior designed to both cosset its occupants and provide Instagram-able levels of drama when leaving the car.
The new concept stands apart from Bentley’s electric ‘Urban SUV’ due to be unveiled next year. Instead the car explores ways that the VW Group brand can reposition the sedan.
“SUVs are simple, sports cars are simple, convertibles are simple. This is difficult,” Bentley CEO Frank Walliser said at EXP 15 unveil July 8 at the brand’s HQ in Crewe, northern England. “Everybody wants a limousine, nobody buys it.” Instead the new concept borrows ingredients from SUVs. “The whole SUV market took off because of this elevated presence, this high seating position, this statement of importance and confidence on the road,” Robin Page, design director for Bentley, said at the event.
So the EXP 15 has been given a higher “more confident” seat position while the sedan’s traditional three-box silhouette has been stretched into a fastback inspired by a famous 1930 Bentley dubbed the Blue Train. Page’s team has designed the exterior of the car to five principles used by the brand to give a style framework for future cars. The principle of ‘upright elegance’ is embodied by the vertical front end, onto which the second principle of the ‘iconic grille’ is applied. The grille has moved away from its combustion-engine function as air intake. “As we move into electric cars, it’s become a piece of art,” Page said. The look of the historic grille is picked out by light elements. The third exterior design principle of ‘resting beast’ is seen in the protruding rear wheel arches, a long-time Bentley styling element to give the sense of power. Meanwhile the principle of ‘endless bonnet’, a nod to the vast 1930s cars with their mighty engines, is given form by an unbroken line stretching from the bonnet to the back of the car. The fifth principle is ‘prestigious shield’ relating to the large and clean surface at the rear of the concept surrounded by an ovoid light strip in red.
Bentley follows fellow British brand Jaguar in trying to reinvent the luxury sedan, but Page doesn’t see a clear comparison between the EXP 15 and Jaguar’s Type 00 concept. “Of course, we’re all going for that kind of modern clean language that’s attractive to the next generation,” he said. “But the proportions and size of this car are completely different.” Inside the car loses the front passenger seat to become a three-seater and create one ultra-luxurious rear seat. That seat can transform to a bed, slide to join the driver and pivot out when the twin ‘coach doors’ open. “This is about arriving in style,” Page said. The demand for digital information in new cars has been balanced with a focus on physical craftsmanship. Where the central touchscreen is normally situated, Bentley has installed special glass that delivers a standard infotainment experience but also reveals a mechanical device behind that can be overlaid with digital information, for example charging progress. “It’s like having a mechanical watch and a digital watch,” Page said. “Put those two together and you have a magical experience.”
The unveil of the EXP 15 coincided with the official opening of Bentley’s new design studio in the renovated former management building in Crewe. The new home reflects the growing importance of design within the brand, Page said. “The focus of the business has changed from a small studio in the corner now to front of house,” he told journalists. “We are influencing everything that goes in front of the customer, whether it’s an app or website, all the way up to a residential building in Miami. Our influence on the business is much, much bigger.”
