Bentley’s all-electric SUV undergoes first test ahead of 2027 launch

Bentley is embarking on an all-electric future and its first model to utilise EV power will be an ‘Urban SUV’, which we’ve just spied on the road. 

You might notice that the prototype Bentley we’ve spotted is utilising a vaguely familiar body. It’s actually the upcoming Porsche Cayenne EV (which we saw testing earlier this year). Bentley’s use of the Porsche’s body shouldn’t come as a surprise though, because just like the current Cayenne and Bentayga, the new Bentley and Porsche SUVs will share a common electric architecture. 

As part of Bentley’s ‘Beyond100’ strategy, the British brand said in 2024 that the first Bentley BEV will come out 2026 and create a new segment, becoming “the world’s first true Luxury Urban SUV”. We believe the car has been pushed back to 2027, although Bentley has set a bold target of launching a new plug-in hybrid or fully electric model each year until 2035 – all of which will be designed and developed at the firm’s HQ in Crewe. 

These spy shots show the Bentley test car (confirmed by a registration check), although the Porsche bodywork means we still don’t know how the upcoming electric SUV will look. That said, Bentley has previously issued an official sketch of the car’s roofline and Bentley’s CEO Frank-Steffen Walliser has told Auto Express that while the styling will not be completely revolutionary, it is likely to surprise. 

“A new car should take a little bit of time; if you like it immediately, it loses the excitement relatively quickly,” said Walliser. “If it needs a little bit of time to get familiar with it from different angles, and after a year you are still excited to see different things, then it went right.”

Although described as a bigger step than previous new models from the brand, the “first part of the transition of Bentley” won’t be a complete reinvention. He continued: “People should recognise the Bentley behind it; it should make steps, but keep the DNA so you recognise some of the elements of Bentleys you have seen in the past.”

While Bentley will use a PPE platform for its EV, it will attempt to create a different driving experience from other VW Group models using the same architecture, such as the Cayenne EV. 

“I think that a big part of the transition to the electric drivetrain is to keep the characters of the cars; maybe have an interpretation, but keep the DNA of the cars,” said Walliser. “The good thing is that in an [electric] Bentley, the wave of torque will always be there. But to make this a driver’s car, to give the proper feeling in the car, that will all come.”

Walliser said the new car’s styling direction will be adopted by the replacements for the existing Bentayga, Flying Spur and Continental GT as they are introduced later in the decade, and the electric model will also see the arrival of a new, more tech-laden interior. Bentley’s boss revealed that the cabin will be a big step forward in terms of the driver interface and “everything you can see and touch”. There won’t be a complete purge on buttons, although a new touchscreen system will allow more tech to be packaged. 

“With the technology, you have more possibilities so you need a user interface that can handle it,” he said. “With Bentley, nobody is pushing to get all of the buttons out of the car; some buttons cannot be replaced by a touchscreen, like adjusting the temperature, the seats or the mirrors. A touchscreen is helpful for the navigation system, for example, but you don’t want to have a lot of buttons to navigate through; it must be direct access and easy to understand.” 

Bentley's battery and charging capabilities

Although Walliser wouldn’t be drawn on the pricing, range or battery technology underpinning the new sub-five-metre SUV, he did reveal that it will be “north of 100kW”, which is a powertrain likely to be shared with the new electric Porsche Cayenne coming this year. He did, though, emphasise the importance of charging speed, with a 10-80% battery charge target of less than 20 minutes. 

“We’re aiming for the Champions League of charging,” he declared, with speeds of 270kW likely to be capable where ultra-fast charging infrastructure is available.

The new electric Bentley will be built in the UK and use the PPE platform also being deployed by fellow Volkswagen Group brands Porsche and Audi. The brand has confirmed that it won’t be mixing electric and ICE or hybrid powertrains on the same model platforms, ruling out a plug-in hybrid version of the new SUV.