Bentley has revealed some pretty shocking details about its first fully electric car that will arrive in 2025. CEO Adrian Hallmark says the Bentley EV will boast up to 1,400 horsepower (1,044 kilowatts) and will be capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in as little as 1.5 seconds.
Despite these performance specs more typical of a Bugatti than a Bentley, Hallmark added that 0-60 acceleration will not be the main selling point of the EV.
In an interview with Automotive News, the executive said the brutality of acceleration will not define the car, with the main attribute of the new EV rather being its "effortless overtaking performance from a huge amount of torque on demand."
He explained that most people enjoy the 30-70 mph acceleration, or in Germany 30-150 mph, so that's where Bentley's first electric vehicle will shine.
Back to the 0-60 time of 1.5 seconds, Hallmark said that customers will also have the option of a slower 0-60 acceleration in 2.7 seconds if they find the quickest setting too uncomfortable.
Gallery: Bentley EXP 100 GT at Monterey Car Week 2019
"If we're 650 hp now with GT Speed, we will be double that with the BEV. 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."
While Hallmark did not reveal what body style the new EV would be, he said its design will be updated from Bentley's current look without following an EV trend. "What we will not do is try and make them look like electric cars," he said.
He also revealed that one variant of the new EV will cost more than €250,000 ($262,250), a price point that the brand exited when it discontinued the Mulsanne in 2020; it won't be a sedan, Hallmark stressed. If the 2019 EXP 100 GT Concept is anything to go by, Bentley's first electric vehicle may adopt the shape of a luxurious grand tourer.
Bentley's first EV will be built on the Premium Performance Electric platform developed by Audi. According to Hallmark, Bentley attributes were "baked in at the beginning," with the platform giving the brand "the battery technology itself, the drive units, the autonomous capability, the connected car capability, the body systems and some innovations in those."
The first electric Bentley will go into production at the carmaker's plant in Crewe, England, in 2025.
