Bentley has grand performance ambitions for its first electric vehicle, so much so that it could become one of the world’s quickest production vehicles.
The British car manufacturer’s first EV will hit the market in 2025 and during a recent interview with Auto News Europe, Bentley chief executive Adrian Hallmark suggested it could have upwards of 1,400 hp and be capable of hitting 60 mph (96 km/h) in just 1.5 seconds.
“If we’re 650 hp now with GT Speed, we will be double that with the BEV,” Hallmark said. “But from a 0 to 60 mph point of view there are diminishing returns. The problem is, it’s uncomfortable. And then it just becomes nauseous.”
Read More: Bentley To Begin Testing Their First EV Later This Year, Set To Arrive In 2025
Bentley EXP 100 GT Concept
To get around this issue, Bentley will offer the EV with different acceleration modes. “You can have 0-60mph in 2.7 seconds. Or it can be switched to 1.5 seconds,” Hallmark said. “For us it would not be the brutality of acceleration that can define us.”
According to Hallmark, a key attribute of the EV will be its “effortless overtaking performance”, particularly between speeds such as 30-70 mph (48-112 km/h) and 30-150 mph (48-241 km/h).
Bentley has not stated what form its first electric vehicle will take. What we do know is that the EV will be based on the VW Group’s Premium Performance Electric (PPE) platform developed by Audi and Porsche and that the automaker will not design it to look like an electric car.
One variant of the EV is expected to cost over €250,000 (~$263,000). This comes despite the fact that the electric powertrain will be cheaper than the automaker’s current 12-cylinder engine.
“The 12-cylinder engine is about 10 times the price of the average premium car engine, and the average battery is less than our 12-cylinder engine,” Hallmark added. “I cannot wait for batteries, they are cheap in relative terms.”
Bentley EXP 100 GT Concept