Bentley EXP 100 GT concept car revealed

This is the new Bentley EXP 100 GT. To celebrate the luxury car-maker’s centenary, it’s been built as a vision of the GT car of the future. It’s entirely electric-powered, fully self-driving and makes use of many sustainable materials, inside and out. Here’s everything you need to know about this brand-new, extravagant concept.

Bentley EXP 100 GT styling

The EXP 100 GT is a hyper-futuristic luxury saloon. The front end is dominated by a large, filled-in grille (signalling the EXP’s electric power), which is able to light up. In fact, the badge and the centre of the bonnet can illuminate, too, together flashing welcoming patterns as you approach the car.

Elsewhere, circular headlights, which look like they’re made from fancy whisky tumblers, flank the grille. There are sleek-looking air vents on the bonnet and on the front’s bottom corners, hinting at the EXP’s sporty performance credentials.

Around the sides, the doors open vertically, making the cabin easier to get into in cramped car parks. This may not be useful in a tight multistorey, though: having the doors fully open makes the EXP almost three metres tall.

The EXP also features large Active Aero wheels. When you’re driving at high speeds, the spokes close up to improve aerodynamics, before opening up again as you brake to make sure enough cold air is being fed to the brakes. The tyres are similarly smart, with the ability to change how much contact they have with the road. If you want pure straight-line performance, they can lower the amount of resistance; if you want more grip on the tarmac, they’ll increase it.

At the rear, thin, slit-like LED lights link to the Bentley badge in the centre through a complex array of vein-like lines. There is also a horseshoe-shaped OLED screen, which projects some ambient lighting.

The swooping shape of the roof and boot is a throwback to the Bentley R-Type Continental of the 1950s. Its unique shape is highlighted by copper details. This isn’t just an extravagant aesthetic choice, either; copper is 100% recyclable, so it demonstrates Bentley’s desire to use as many sustainable materials as possible for the EXP. This carries on even as you step inside, as the “leather” in the cabin is made from stalks and pips left over from wine-making.

Other eco-friendly features include the grey ‘Compass’ paint, which is recycled from environmentally harmful byproducts that come from the rice-making industry. Carbon fibre has been used to save weight, too, making the car more efficient.

Overall, the EXP is 5.8 metres long and 2.4 metres wide. That makes it one metre longer and 50cm wider than the Bentley Continental GT.

Bentley EXP 100 GT specs

The EXP 100 GT is powered by four individual motors – one for each wheel. Although Bentley doesn’t mention any horspower figures, those four motors can put out up to 1,500Nm of pulling power, which is probably enough to reverse the Earth’s rotation. Equally impressive is that the car can go from 0-60mph in just 2.5 seconds, before topping out at 186mph. Its range is good, as well: the EXP is able to go up to 435 miles on a full battery.

The car also has a fully autonomous driving mode. As this system is able to take control without any human intervention, the EXP has level 5 autonomy. This feature can also adjust your route as you travel, giving the option to go past nearby points of interests that it thinks you’d like.

Bentley EXP 100 GT interior and infotainment

Arguably the main party piece of the EXP 100 GT is its Bentley Personal Assistant AI system. This is operated by two illuminated ‘crystals’: one at the front and the other at the back. Bentley claims that this feature can preempt any driver or passenger needs, with the ability to go as far as to adjust its seats based on your posture to maximise comfort.

The Personal Assistant offers five different modes, which can adjust the mood and feel inside the EXP. These are called Enhance, Cocoon, Capture, Re-Live and Customise. Enhance is designed to recreate the atmosphere of an open-top car, letting in lots of natural light and sound. Cocoon is more private, with tinted glass and an air purification filter. Capture records footage both inside and outside the car for you to recreate later. Re-Live replays visual highlights from your previous journeys for you at will. Finally, Customise is a manual combination of the other four modes, adjusted solely by you.

Bizarrely, the EXP gets an integrated crystal decanter, which dispenses water to you and your passengers, taking it from cartridges that are inserted into a designated space below the bonnet.