Bentley may be known for its focus on supreme luxury, but that doesn’t mean that it slouches on the performance end of things. It’s demonstrated this most prominently with its Continental GT Speed road car as well as its GT3 race car iteration. More subtly, Bentley has packed a surprising amount of power and agility in its Flying Spur and Mulsanne sedan. With this is mind, it seems that the Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept that debuted at the Geneva Auto Show was more than just a design exercise, it was a glimpse of things to come.
According to a report in Autocar, the Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 is an experimental showcase to gauge what customers would want from a more sport-focused two seater produced by Bentley, which they intend to have ready in a relatively short three years.
“This is not just a new sports car concept but the potential Bentley sports car — a bold vision for a brand with a bold future,” said company chairman Wolfgang Dürheimer.
The sports car would be positioned int he same range as the Continental GT, which suggests that it would be priced in the ballpark of $200,000.
Under the hood, the EXP 10 Speed 6 concept was equipped with a hybrid powertrain, but the production version would most likely rock the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine thats housed in the Continental GT and Flying Spur.
Performance and top speed is what Bentley has stated its focus to be, specifically mentioning that it wishes to “challenge competitors and define a new segment benchmark.,” possibly muscling in on territory held by Jaguar or rivaling the upcoming McLaren Sports Series cars.
We’re glad to see that the much prepared-for and talked about Bentayga SUV isn’t the only thing being cooked up in Crewe, though this was the focus of much of the speculation and subsequent spotlight. It’s interesting to see Bentley refresh its lineup with something that isn’t a GT or luxury sedan, and we can’t wait to see how either of the new cars stack up.
