2015 Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 Concept
Though Bentley has had a performance focus since the company was founded in 1919, it has been many decades since they've had anything that would be called a proper sports car. For all of its sporting qualities, the Continental GT is, as the name denotes, a Grand Tourer, and not strictly a sports car.
Enter the EXP 10 Speed 6. While the overall shape is derived from the current Continental, there are some major differences. It's a pure 2 seater, for starters. It appears shorter and smaller in every respect, which would give a welcome weight reduction over the GT, which for all of its power still has to contend with a curb weight that runs a little over 5000 lbs. The lines are sharper and more streamlined.
Bentley has said that the concept display is the "future direction of luxury and performance," so it would not be going too far to expect some elements of the design to find their way into a future production car, including a future sports car. No word on the power as of yet, but given the name, it is likely to be a V6.
There are some really beautiful details here, like the patterned headlights, which echo the quilted leather seats, and the novel exhaust outlets that echo the taillights and carefully integrated into the design. But perhaps the real design triumph of the car is the interior, which mixes old and new in a way that is simply stunning. It is even a tiny bit reminiscent of the interiors from Spyker in terms of sheer grandeur. Whatever type of test run this car is for future styling developments at the British marque, this interior needs to find its way into production.
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(from Bentley Press Release) EXP 10 SPEED 6 - A VISION OF BENTLEY DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE
- Concept for sector-defining two-seater sportscar
- Futuristic Bentley design, a statement in modern British luxury
- Potential future model line
(Crewe / Geneva, 2nd March 2015) Bentley Motors is showing the future direction of luxury and performance with the EXP 10 Speed 6 at the 2015 Geneva International Motor Show. The concept is a British interpretation of a high performance two seater sportscar using modern automotive design, highly skilled handcrafting, the finest materials and advanced performance technology.
From the racing success of the company’s early years to the international motorsport success of today, ‘speed’ is part of Bentley’s DNA. This inspiration is expressed throughout the EXP 10 Speed 6, where iconic Bentley design cues are fused with progressive craftsmanship techniques and modern technologies.
Copper elements are used as accents to both exterior and interior features to highlight the performance hybrid potential of the concept’s advanced new powertrain. Performance goals including top speed are set to challenge competitors and define a new segment benchmark.
Wolfgang Dürheimer, chairman and chief executive of Bentley Motors, comments:
“EXP 10 Speed 6 is one vision for Bentley’s future – a powerful, exquisite and individual concept. The showcar has the potential to be the new pinnacle luxury two-seat sports car. It offers thrilling, driver-oriented performance, complete with trademark modern Bentley luxury and effortlessness.
It could be a future model line, alongside the Continental GT and redefining the pinnacle of another market sector, and the styling of the EXP 10 Speed 6 could influence the expansion of the Bentley family. 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.”
Contemporary Design, Yet Unmistakably Bentley
The exterior design of EXP 10 Speed 6 is an expression of muscular, athletic surfaces inspired by the aerodynamic shapes of aircraft fuselages and wings. The ethos of the design was to develop contemporary interpretations of Bentley styling cues, which have been brought together with beauty and precision. The result is a coupe of clean, modern surfaces whilst remaining unmistakably Bentley.
Creating exciting contemporary ideas from classic starting points is evident across the car, from the new interpretation of the iconic Bentley matrix grille and four-round headlamps to the paint colour – a deeper, richer and heavily metallic version of British Racing Green. The principles of established Bentley luxury have been applied in new and invigorating ways that use the latest technologies and techniques.
The shapes and lines of EXP 10 Speed 6 represent a dynamic sculpture, creating harmony between sharp lines and flowing surfaces and using twisted surfaces to imply speed. Combined with muscular proportions and an athletic stance through the use of a short front overhang, long bonnet, low grille and wide rear shape with a long C-post, the exterior styling hints at high speed potential of the car.
Every exterior material and each individual detail is designed to modern Bentley style. Cutting-edge 3D metal printing technology has allowed the grille mesh, exhausts, door handles and side vents to be delivered with micro-scale design detail precision. The iconic Bentley mesh grille, for example, is no longer a flat plane of latticework but includes varying depth with a complex 3D geometry only visible when viewed at an angle. Bentley’s renowned quilted leather has inspired three dimensional texture to the precision glass of the headlamps.
These exterior elements come together to present a Bentley for the next generation – lean, toned and exquisitely precise, designed around new evolutions of the design elements that unite all Bentleys – past, present and future.
Bentley’s Most Performance-Orientated Luxury Cabin
The inspiration for the interior comes from the continuous line that runs around the cabin, driving through the console and into two symmetrical wings before flowing into the door and looping back into the console armrest. Two elegant quilted sports seats are positioned either side of the narrow centre console which houses exquisite driver controls and a highly intuitive 12” touch screen. These features combine futuristic technology seamlessly with progressive Bentley craftsmanship.
Each detail has taken core Bentley interior DNA principles and moved them forwards. For example, the classic and purposeful Bentley knurled surface is a feature throughout the controls of the car, but now created using steel and copper together to create a two-metal 3D texture.
Continuing the fusion of traditional materials and contemporary design statements, the doors of EXP 10 Speed 6 feature 3D quilting, milled directly in to solid straight-grain cherry wood. Each resulting diamond is finished with a copper centre.
The centre console integrates digital information with tactile controls via a curved touch screen housed in an aluminium frame. The fascia instruments deploy from a flat position into the drivers view as the car is started using the floating “B” button integrated in to a non-symmetrical gear lever finished in aluminium, copper and cherry wood. A mechanical rev counter and digital display combine to provide the perfect balance of modern driver information and analogue beauty.
The rear interior space is divided into two compartments designed to house a specifically designed four-piece luggage set. Like the rest of the interior, the rear has been trimmed by the master craftsmen at Bentley in the highest quality Poltrona Frau leather.