Top Gear has some good news about the hotly awaited Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 in production form, and they learned the car is about one step closer to being approved for production.
In an interview with Bentley’s board member for sales and marketing, Kevin Rose, and the brand’s CEO, Wolfgang Durheimer, TG heard the production EXP 10 will be “smaller than the Continental GT but not cheaper,” specifically from Durheimer.
Click here for our original post on the 2015 Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 Concept from the 2015 Geneva Auto Show.
It will be built on a heavily reworked version of VW Group’s modular MSB platform, their latest rear- or all-wheel drive platform with longitudinal engine placements. The new MSB platform will also be a starting point for the next generation Panamera. It’s also the same platform for the next-generation Continental GT and Flying Spur, noting “customers, even the technically savvy ones, don’t care about platform sharing.”
As for what will power the EXP 10, talks about a 608hp W12 engine were tossed around, but with less power. Also, the engine was renewed for the Bentayga, so Bentley could certainly gain some more use out of the factory to produce more W12s.
There will be a twin-turbo Audi-sourced V8 too, like in the Continental. Oh, and we can’t forget Durheimer’s plan to get an all-electric version of the EXP 10 out as well.
“For a full EV you need 500km range and 15-20-minute fast charges. If it’s achievable then that’s a real option. Porsche has said it can be done. There is also the possibility to take power to the customers,” said Durheimer.
He even thought of an idea as a way to relieve owners from “range anxiety” by creating a service where a truck with a generator runs around and recharges customers’ production EV EXP 10s while they’re parked for long periods of time.
At the end of the interview, Durheimer also once again promised the design won’t differ much with the production model when compared to the concept, as the idea is to keep the EXP 10’s appeal. Nonetheless, Bentley is also known to be taking their time with the development. They are working on it, but their focus is currently with the launch of the Bentayga and possibly more crossovers. So a production EXP 10 is bound to happen, it’ll just take some time. And we’re betting that it’ll be worth the wait.
– By: Chris Chin
Source: Top Gear
Source: egmCarTech http://bit.ly/1NYjxdX
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