Bentley already has admitted that it will be producing plug-in hybrid versions of future models, starting with the Bentyaga. But now Crewe has apparently decided that it will be taking the next logical step and introducing fully electric models, with the first of these set to share its architecture with Porsche’s forthcoming EV sedan.
-Stuttgart’s uncharacteristic verbosity on the subject of its future model plans has already told us plenty about this project, including that creating the car will involve a $750-million investment, that it will be built in a new plant dubbed “factory 4.0” in Weissach, and that the company is taking on 1000 employees to make it. These are costs that, it seems likely, the company will be able to be split with Crewe, although we’re still a long way from learning where a pure electric Bentley actually will be assembled. Or even what form it will take, for that matter, although the production version of the gorgeous Bentley EXP10 Speed 6 concept is a likely candidate. (We blended Porsche’s Mission E concept with the Speed 6 concept for the image up top.)
-Australian website Drive seems to have gotten the scoop on this one—good on ya, cobbers—during an interview with Bentley engineering boss Rolf Frech at the launch of the Bentayga. Frech is quoted as saying, “We are currently in the stage where we are evaluating all the possibilities, but there are so many question marks behind this. I think there will be an answer within the next six months to a year to decide which direction we will go, but of course electric will be a future strategy direction for Bentley.”
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Much as we’re struggling with the idea of a Bentley without either an eight- or 12-cylinder sound track, we admit a pure-electric version will make sense in the not-too-distant future where internal-combustion engines are going to be banned from many major global city centers. In the same way that the Bentyaga is a bigger and more expensive sister to the Porsche Cayenne, Bentley’s first EV should be a similarly easy win in engineering terms.
-from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/1QuCRNg
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