Bentley To Create The Fastest Electric Vehicle By 2025, The Beast Will Accelerate At 60 mph/1.5 Sec
The Electric Bentley
If all goes well, the Bentley Electric Vehicle will hit the roads by 2025. The company has opted for a Beyond100 strategy, committing to becoming a global pioneer in sustainable luxury mobility. This means becoming fully carbon-neutral, from the factory to the cars, this being the aim by 2030.
However, owing to its dedicated suppliers, the expected minimum meet time of sustainability standards is by 2025. Aiming at a global retailer network which will be able to be carbon neutral.
It does not stop there. The strategy has since accelerated, with the announcement of the ‘Five-in-Five’ plan, which will see five all-electric Bentley vehicles launched one each year from 2025 at which point Bentley’s entire product range will be electric.
Bentley’s CEO, Adrian Hallmark indicates the brand's first EV could have as much as 1,400 horsepower (1,044 kilowatts) when it arrives in 2025. This would allow for effortless acceleration.
If true, this new Bentley would destroy both the Lucid Air Dream Edition Performance (1,111 HP) and Tesla Model S Plaid (1,020 HP) in a drag race. And those electric vehicles are two of the fastest passenger Electric Vehicles (EVs) currently on the road, clocking the same acceleration in just under two seconds.
As for the cars Bentley builds today, things are moving just as fast. Its Flying Spur and Bentayga models are already available with hybrid powertrains. Before long, they will be joined by the Continental GT (Grand Tourer Manufacturer) and GTC, the next step on a journey that is gathering momentum by the day.
Flying Spur Hybrid And The Bentayga Hybrid, Crucial Milestones Bentley Hybrid Vehicles
With the introduction of Bentley’s hybrid powertrains, its transition to electric power is well underway. With a 2.9 litre petrol engine and a 100 kW electric motor, the Flying Spur Hybrid can travel at motorway speeds using just electric power and it can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in just 4.1 seconds.
The Bentayga Hybrid, meanwhile, combines an electric motor with a 3.0 litre petrol engine. It can drive on electric power alone for up to 25 miles, making it perfect for the world’s most progressive cities. This means good news for the roads of India too. Together, these cars represent another milestone in the brand’s journey towards an electric future, while setting new standards for luxury hybrid vehicles.
Going Greener Electric Vehicle And New Fuel
The countdown to the first fully electric Bentley is part of a bigger picture, in which Bentley as a manufacturer is striving to achieve better environmental performance for all its past, present and future vehicles. This allows us to look at the different perspective, this being for all cars that are on the road today, manufacturers should be working on greener alternatives to petrol.
Recently, to test the effectiveness of a candidate based on waste straw, a prototype Flying Spur Hybrid drove right around Iceland, powered only by clean electricity and the new fuel. CO2 emissions were cut by 45 percent over the course of the adventure on a well-to-wheels basis, making the project a resounding success.
Cleaner Electric Vehicles Are Possible, Rare-Earth Recycling for E-machines
An Electric Vehicle in itself would have no identity on its own, what matters is the fuel that it uses and the storage channel. Electric cars can be damaging to the environment if carbon emissions are not under control. In order to make EVs less damaging electric vehicle manufacturers are investing heavily in this area.
The RaRE project (Rare-earth Recycling for E-machines) explores how discarded magnetic material can be used to make new, recyclable magnets. OCTOPUS (Optimised Components, Test and simulatiOn, toolkits for Powertrains that integrate Ultra-high-speed motor Solutions) aims to create a fully integrated e-axle without any rare-earth magnets at all.
An initial investigation has already delivered a breakthrough, beating standard permanent magnet motor performance. The aim now is to make it both cost effective and fully recyclable.
Electric Vehicle Vision Of The Future
This is all part of a vision for the future of luxury mobility that was demonstrated in a Bentley concept car revealed in 2019. Created to mark Bentley’s Centenary, the EXP 100 GT represented a showcase of the innovative ideas that will define sustainable luxury in the years to come. Designed to stimulate all the senses, it can be considered a proving ground for new features, many of which are now appearing in its produced cars.
Bentley’s Driving Smarter Mode
All of Bentley’s hybrid cars are equipped with innovative technology to ensure the car runs as efficiently as possible.
To achieve this, these three features driving modes are introduced:
EV Drive Mode
Designed for shorter city and urban trips, this all-electric mode solely uses the electric motor, yet still provides sufficient power to achieve highway speeds.
Hybrid Mode
Using a combination of both the electric motor and the petrol engine, Hybrid mode maximises the vehicle’s range, by switching the engine off when its contribution is not required. With the navigation system’s Predictive E-Mode feature enabled, it can automatically work out when in one’s journey it should employ the electric motor, and when it needs the petrol engine. In short, the car will select the right mode at the right time. All you need to do is drive.
Hold Mode
In this mode, the car focuses on preserving and recouping electric charge for the battery, by relying on the petrol engine where possible, while also recharging the battery via regenerative braking.
Building A Dream Factory, Bentley Sustainability Vehicles
Bentley’s current production facility in Crewe, United Kingdom was certified carbon neutral by the Carbon Trust in 2020, before any other UK luxury car factory. This certification followed 20 years of hard work, for advances including:
- A 10,000 solar panel carport on top of 20,000 solar panels Bentley had already installed.
- A shift to using renewable only energy sources.
- Water recycling in the paint shop.
- Tree planting in the local area.
- Introducing on-site beehives and wildflower meadows, boosting biodiversity.
- A commitment to cutting the factory’s environmental impact by 75 percent by 2025.
Bentley is now in the process of creating a next-generation ‘Dream Factory’. This digital, flexible and high-value manufacturing facility will ensure that neither its cars nor its production processes affect the environment adversely.
My Bentley, A Smartphone App - Ready To Make You Feel More Connected By The Day
The experience of owning a car today is defined not just by the physical vehicle, but also by the suite of digital services that can be used alongside it. For Bentley, many of these services are delivered by My Bentley – a smartphone app with connected features that make owning a hybrid car even easier.
For example, its E-charging feature lets you search for charging stations in your local area, on your route or at your destination. If your car is already plugged into a charging point, you can schedule it to charge at a time that suits you. You can preheat or pre-cool the cabin to an optimum temperature, before you get in. And you can even check whether you have left the windows open.
Electric Vehicle At Its Best, The Incredible Acceleration, Says Hallmark
Hallmark described the “brutality of acceleration” in the upcoming electric vehicle and said that wouldn't, however, be its main selling point but will instead be the “effortless overtaking” from torque on demand.
Adrian Hallmark, Bentley, CEO said, “Most people enjoy the 30 to 70 mph (50-113 kph) acceleration, or in Germany the 30 to 150 mph (50-240 kph) acceleration. If we are 650 HP now with GT Speed, we will be double that with the BEV. But from a 0 to 60 mph point of view, there are diminishing returns. The problem is, it’s uncomfortable. The thrill of 2.4 seconds to 60 mph (100 kph) is about 10 times. Then it just becomes nauseous. That is pure nauseating speed. But you don’t need to worry; the brutal acceleration will be at the customer’s discretion - you can choose to go from 0 to 60 mph (0-100 kph) in 1.5 seconds or 2.7 seconds as if 2.7 seconds is slow. One variation of the vehicle will cost more than USD 262,000 (250,000 Euros).”
Hallmark has been in the car industry for 30 years, working with leading marques including Porsche, Jaguar, Land Rover and Bentley. Hallmark in 2019 had said, "If you're not in SUVs, you're nowhere.” Previous rumours hinted that Bentley’s EV might be a high-riding sedan.
By 2030, Bentley intends to make only EVs, which means multiple models are on the way. Hallmark said, "In terms of price point, one of the EVs will be more in that Mulsanne price range than anything that we have today, it has to be."
In 2020, Bentley previewed its EV future with the EXP 100 GT Concept. The model's sleek shape and scissor doors aren't what we're expecting from the electric model the brand actually intends to make.
Bentley is investing USD 2.5 billion over the next 10 years to build EVs at its Crewe facility in the United Kingdom. The automaker also wants full carbon neutrality by the end of the decade, including the development and production of vehicles. Before the Bentley EV arrives, the brand intends to offer hybrid versions of every model in its line-up. Several are already available, the PHEV version of the Continental GT is under development.
All You Need To Know About Bentley
Bentley Motors Limited is a British manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs, and a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group since 1998 and consolidated under Volkswagen's premium brand arm Audi from 2022.
Headquartered in Crewe, England, United Kingdom, the company was founded as Bentley Motors Limited by Walter Owen Bentley in 1919 in Cricklewood, North London, and became widely known for winning the 24 Hours of LeMans in 1924, 1927, 1928 and 1930. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event.
Prominent models extend from the historic sports-racing Bentley Four and half Litre and Bentley Speed Six; the more recent Bentley R Type Continental, Bentley Turbo R, and Bentley Arnage; to its current model line, including the Flying Spur, Continental GT, Bentayga and the Mulsanne which are marketed worldwide, with China as its largest market as of November 2012.
Today most Bentley models are assembled at the company's Crewe factory, with a small number assembled at Volkswagen's Dresden factory, Germany and with bodies for the Continental manufactured in Zwickau and for the Bentayga manufactured at the Volkswagen Bratislava Plant.
The joining and eventual separation of Bentley and Rolls-Royce followed a series of mergers and acquisitions, beginning with the 1931 purchase by Rolls-Royce of Bentley, then in receivership. In 1971, Rolls-Royce itself was forced into receivership and the UK government nationalised the company splitting into two companies the aerospace division which is Rolls-Royce Plc and automotive the Rolls-Royce Motors Limited divisions the latter retaining the Bentley subdivision. Rolls-Royce Motors was subsequently sold to engineering conglomerate Vickers and in 1998, Vickers sold Rolls-Royce to Volkswagen AG.
Intellectual property rights to both the name Rolls-Royce as well as the company's logo had been retained not by Rolls-Royce Motors, but by aerospace company Rolls-Royce Plc, which had continued to license both to the automotive division. Thus the sale of "Rolls-Royce" to VW included the Bentley name and logos, vehicle designs, model nameplates, production, and administrative facilities, the Spirit of Ecstasy and Rolls-Royce grille shape trademarks subsequently sold to BMW by VW but not the rights to the Rolls-Royce name or logo. The aerospace company, Rolls-Royce Plc, ultimately sold both to BMW AG (Bayerische Motoren Werke).
