Bentley's first electric car pictured testing for the first time
By now, just about every carmaker has launched at least one electric model.
In terms of British brands, Rolls-Royce has the Spectre, Lotus has the Eletre, and Jaguar Land Rover is close to launching the new Range Rover EV.
However, no electric debut has been more eagerly anticipated than Bentley's.
Now, for the first time, we’ve seen images of the British car maker’s first electric model, which has hit public roads for the first time in prototype form.
Covered in a design-obscuring, camouflaged exterior livery, the car pictured shows that Bentley’s first EV will be the brand’s second SUV, following the existing petrol Bentley Bentayga.
Pitched as “the world’s first true luxury urban SUV”, Bentley’s first EV is currently unnamed. Technical details are also still unconfirmed.
Our images reveal the SUV's production bodywork, showing how Bentley's EXP 15 concept influenced its monolithic surfacing, bluff proportions, and relatively low-slung silhouette.
We do know that it will be the shortest Bentley model yet, measuring less than five metres long. It will sit on a version of the PPE EV platform, which was developed by Porsche and Audi.
The Bentley EV will sit just below the Bentayga in the brand’s model range. Because of its platform, it will likely be closely related to the new Porsche Cayenne Electric.
The new Cayenne is exclusively available with dual-motor, four-wheel-drive powertrains, producing between 400bhp in the base model and 805bhp in the top-tier variant (increasing to nearly 1000bhp with launch control).
A 108kWh battery is projected to provide a range of up to 373 miles (600km) in the most efficient variant and can be charged at speeds up to 400kW.
That said, despite their almost identical proportions, we’ve no confirmation on just how closely related the new Bentley will be to the Cayenne.
The new electric Bentley SUV will be fully revealed in the middle of 2026, with customer deliveries due to start in the second quarter of 2027.
Interestingly, the new EV was photographed just one day after Bentley CEO Frank-Steffen Walliser informed Autocar that significant changes to sibling brand Porsche's EV strategy would also affect the British brand.
The firm is still planning to launch new plug-in hybrid and electric models every year from 2026, but will also continue to offer combustion models to cater to slowing electric car demand.
“There is a dip in demand for luxury electric vehicles, and customer demand is not yet strong enough to support an all-electric strategy. The luxury market is a lot different today than when we announced [our] Beyond100 [plan]," he said. "Electrification is still our goal, but we need to take our customers with us."
As a result, certain markets are likely to see the Bentayga, Continental GT, and Flying Spur once again offer pure-petrol powertrain options. These models were previously slated to be exclusively plug-in hybrids.
