After a long and cold season of winter testing, the development mule for Bentley’s upcoming electric crossover is now going through the spin cycle. The new model that will sit below the Bentayga in the company’s lineup is doing laps around the Nürburgring, showing that it will be capable of pushing flat out for extended periods of time.
No, this doesn’t look like a Bentley, and that’s because the company is taking advantage of the model’s roots to hide the new design. It is based on the Premium Platform Electric architecture that is also used for the Porsche Macan and upcoming Cayenne EV. So Bentley simply hid its new SUV in Cayenne EV clothing.
Completely Disguised, But Still Very Telling
The Cayenne clothing really is an inspired choice. It lets Bentley hide its new model completely. Were it not for the UK license plate, we probably wouldn’t know the difference. Well, the CarBuzz spies would, but from the photos it’d be tough for the rest of us to tell.
This, like the other Cayenne EVs we’ve spotted recently, is still heavily disguised through fake features like the headlight stickers and thick pads on the doors, but it doesn’t matter as much for Porsche as it does for Bentley. We already know that any new Porsche is going to look like a Porsche.
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The new Bentley EV should get some of the best features of the VW Group family platform. Rear-axle steering, powerful motors, high-capacity batteries, air suspension, just to start the list. Bentley will no doubt add more of its own. It will also have a cabin furnished to a standard far beyond what any Porsche or Audi could ever dream of.
Bentley Promises “Impressive” Specs
Bentley boss Frank-Steffen Walliser recently spoke with Top Gear about the new model. He called it a “luxury urban EV,” though that’s not meant to suggest it’ll have a short range. It will have an “impressive” battery, he said, with “the best you can get” charging. Walliser said it will “push the boundaries” for energy density, power, and efficiency.
Still, Bentley doesn’t need to offer record-breaking range numbers. As Walliser put it, if they’re going long distances, “Bentley owners take the plane.” By which he, of course, means their plane.
Urban, instead, means it’ll be smaller than a Bentayga. Easier to maneuver in, say, London. Or Rome. Or Monaco.
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We’ve also dug up some possible names for the new model. Bentley trademarked Mayon, which is mostly like a volcanic mountain in the Philippines. It also trademarked Barnato, which is a nod to Woolf Barnato, an iconic figure in the company’s history as the driver who won three Le Mans in Bentley cars and who was an investor in the company.
We’re expecting to see this new Bentley EV, whatever its name, go on sale next year. Which means that Bentley should be testing prototypes with the proper bodywork in the very near future.
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