As most automobile brands are fast moving into the EV era, Bentley is not left out. The auto builder chief executive talked more on how Bentley EV will be linked to its past concept. The company boss Adrian Hallmark revealed to Automotive News Europe that “it’s all about electrification when talking about a new product.” The first Bentley with a plug is the Bentayga Hybrid unveiled at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show.
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In the nearest future, an electric car will join the range, although executives haven’t really decided what form it will come with, or what exactly it will be powered by. But there are many options to chose from. But one thing is sure, and that is that Bentley won’t stuff an electric powertrain into one of the cars in its current portfolio.
“We could take one of the existing nameplates, and that could be the first electric car, but we wouldn’t take an existing car and try to fit batteries into it, because there’s a compromise from a range and efficiency point of view,” Hallmark said.
Other automobile makers may jump in and out of developing EVs but it’s not going to be that easy to make an electric Bentley; the British company wants to make sure its first battery-powered model is durable enough to the badge on its nose. That is to say, it’ll make sure it blends effortless power with an acceptable amount of driving range.
Bentley is a member of Volkswagen, so it’s possible that the company will use one of its platforms in the group’s growing arsenal of architectures to experiment. Hallmark also affirmed that engineers will take advantage of the innovative packaging possibilities made possible by electric powertrains.
He said that the firm is not ready to release a Mini, but an electric Bentley may have a smaller footprint than, say, a Mulsanne while offering a comparable amount of interior space.
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He pointed the Jaguar I-Pace as an example, which he claimed is nearly 14 inches shorter than Land Rover’s Range Rover, yet is about as spacious inside because electric cars require less space than gasoline or diesel-burning engine.
The issue is that an electric Bentley would require a sizable battery pack, and designers may likely have to put the car on stilts to leave more room in the cabin for people and gear if they were to open an electric car in 2020.
Hallmark said Solid-state battery technology will see to it that the issue is solved when it’s ready for production. Although he didn’t reveal whether he’s open to waiting for the new chemistry or if Bentley’s first electric car will ship with a lithium-ion battery pack or not.
