Editor’s Note: Bentley is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, which has announced a few potential long-range EVs in the past few months, and which has announced a strong focus on EVs coming out of dieselgate.
A 4-wheel drive all-electric version of its EXP10 Speed Six concept is currently being worked on by Bentley, according to recent reports.
The new electric luxury car is reportedly expected to possess a single-charge range of around 300 miles and a top speed of about 200 miles per hour. No launch date has been revealed yet, but estimates are for sometime around 2020.
There are now expected to at least two versions of the production model of the EXP10 Speed Six concept — a petrol one sporting a V8, and the aforementioned electric one. The electric version will reportedly possess 400 to 500 horsepower — in addition to the 500 kilometer range (~300 mile range) and the top speed of around 200 miles per hour already mentioned.
“We believe battery technology are reaching a point of where such vehicles are making sense,” stated Bentley CEO Wolfgang Durheimer. “And the performance will be stunning.”
Autocar.co.uk provides more:
The two new cars will bring unprecedented expansion to Crewe: Durheimer has already created 1000 new jobs inside Bentley and, with surrounding suppliers, has embarked on a three-year, £840m spending programme. During yesterday’s announcement he claimed the famous Pym’s Lane works as the first outpost of the government’s much-vaunted “northern powerhouse”.
…During 2015 China has slipped from its position as Bentley’s biggest market, the CEO said, leaving the US market once again as Bentley’s strongest. Second biggest is Europe, buoyed by especially strong demand from the UK, and China is now third. But Durheimer believed flagging Chinese demand is already showing signs of turning, and Bentayga will be further boosted boosted by growing demand from countries such as Russia, Africa and the Middle East, where its all-road ability will be especially valued.
The estimated release date for the all-electric model (2020) is still quite a ways off, so I wouldn’t bank on it as a sure thing. A lot can change in 5 years. Tesla’s updated super-long-range Roadster is expected to be released before 2020 — it’s hard to see how the specs mentioned above can compete with those that the Roadster will be bringing with it.