√Bentley CEO promises 1000kW in first electric vehicle

Nearly one megawatt of power could be on the menu for Bentley’s first electric vehicle, due in 2025.

Expect the first fully-electric Bentley to offer hypercar-like performance when it arrives in 2025.

CEO Adrian Hallmark told Automotive News the first battery-powered Bentley could have the ability to accelerate to 100km/h in a touch over 1.5 seconds, but said the desired level of performance would be in the hands of the driver.

“If we’re 650hp (485kW) now with [Continental] GT Speed, we will be double that with the [battery-electric vehicle],” Hallmark said in the interview, suggesting the new model will pack nearly 1000kW.

“But from a 0-to-60mph [97km/h] point of view, there are diminishing returns. The problem is, it’s uncomfortable. And then it just becomes nauseous,” he said.

“You can have 0-60mph in 2.7 seconds. Or it can be switched to 1.5 seconds.”

If true, it would undercut the world’s current fastest-accelerating production car – the Tesla Model S Plaid – by nearly half a second.

The Bentley is set to be underpinned by Volkswagen Group’s PPE architecture, with the platform to be shared with sibling brands Audi and Porsche.

However, Hallmark says Bentley attributes were “baked in at the beginning,” rather than the platform being adapted to suit its needs, as has been done with other models in recent years.

With Audi already previewing its PPE-based A6 E-Tron in concept form, and Lamborghini said to be working on a 2+2 grand tourer using the PPE platform, it’s possible the Bentley will take the shape of a sleek four-seater GT rather than a traditional limousine.

In 2019, Bentley revealed the EXP 100 GT concept, providing a glimpse at what can be expected in 2025 (shown above and throughout).

“What we will not do is try and make them look like electric cars,” said Hallmark.

The Bentley boss also said one variant of the upcoming zero-emissions model will be priced similarly to the Mulsanne, which was on sale in Australia for $564,700 plus on-road costs before the vehicle was discontinued in 2020.

Despite the high price, the Bentley CEO is positive about the cost benefits of moving to battery-electric powertrains.

“The 12-cylinder engine is about 10 times the price of the average premium car engine, and the average battery is less than our 12-cylinder engine,” Hallmark said.

“I cannot wait for batteries, they are cheap in relative terms,” he added.

The high-performance model will be the first of five electric vehicles coming from the British luxury marque by 2030, with Bentley investing £2.5 billion ($AU4.7 billion) to retrofit its Crewe factory for the new cars.

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