autoevolution
 
• Bentley Barnato

Bentley Sports Car Reaffirmed by CEO

Published: • By:
Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 76 photos
Photo: S. Baldauf/R. Kah
Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at GenevaBentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at Geneva
Before Bentley got to unveil the EXP 10 Speed 6 at the Geneva Motor Show in 2015, the rumor mill suggested that the Crewe-based manufacturer is thinking about turning the concept car into a production vehicle. Much tittle-tattle later, Bentley’s CEO let it slip that the sports car is awaiting approval from big daddy Volkswagen.
A multinational automaker such as Volkswagen is very hard to manage, especially because the Dieselgate scandal continues straining the group’s coffer. After receiving a lot of orders for the Bentayga, however, Bentley proved to its parent that its product planning strategy was right. Hence, Bentley CEO Wolfgang Durheimer is already looking forward to what’s next.

Until now, the hearsay was that the British brand is working on either a Porsche Macan-sized baby Bentayga or a coupe-ified Bentayga. But speaking to Auto Express, Bentley’s numero uno said that something else is in the pipeline. “We know what our additional product line will be, and it will bring in new customers to Bentley.” With that, Durheimer is referring to young'uns.

The big kahuna added that, “The problem with a smaller SUV is that it ends up against many other premium brands, not luxury ones. Whereas with the product idea we currently have, we will be up against our luxury rivals; this is what I prefer.” The cited publication asked if the peeps over at Aston Martin represent one of those competitors and, as expected, Durheimer said yes.

While waiting for the Volkswagen Group to approve the funds needed for Bentley to develop the upcoming model, the CEO highlights that Brexit made it harder for VW to commit to this project. Expected to bear the Barnato handle as a nod to Woolf Barnato, the name fits a sports car perfectly.

The estimated time of arrival for the new model is 2019. Under the beautiful skin, the Bentley Barnato is anticipated to ride on Porsche’s MSB platform and use a modified version of the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 found in the Panamera Turbo. An all-electric take on the Barnato could also make the cut.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram
Bentley Barnato sports car v8 concept Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 Bentley
About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories