Bentley to mark its centenary with two future cars

A pair of future cars will be used by Bentley to celebrate its 100th year as a car-maker.

One is a concept car and the other is an all-electric city-car, carsales.com.au has learned in an exclusive interview with Dr Werner Tietz, head of engineering at Bentley.

Bentley’s chief engineer revealed that the company’s widely-anticipated centenary concept car will not be a genuine think-tank teaser -- not, as predicted, a pointer to a future production model such as the 2017 EXP12 Speed 6e, which previewed the new Continental GT.

Before Bentley marks its 100th birthday on July 10, it will use the Geneva motor show in March to kick off its centenary celebrations with a special-edition “inspired by one of its iconic racing models”, as announced in January (pictured).

But Bentley’s centenary concept will be a much bigger deal.

“It’s our vision of a luxury car in the future,” Tietz told Carsales during a rare visit to Australia.

He would not go into any detail on the concept car, and only hinted that the timing for its reveal is around the middle of the year.

“It will show where we are going to, where we are heading. But, of course, with the relationship to the history of Bentley.”

Tietz was more open about Bentley’s battery-powered car, which is part of the company’s confirmed electric strategy. Like the rest of the VW Group brands, Bentley is committed to plug-in hybrids in the short term and full electrification further into the future.

“Our target by 2025 is to have at least one electrified version in every model line,” he confirmed.

“We are well on the way to plug-in hybrid. We think it is the best solution for Bentley at the moment, with emission-free driving in towns and still performance outside the cities.”

But then Tietz fires a bombshell on a potential game-changer for Bentley.

“We are thinking about introducing one model which is completely electric,” he says.

As he confirmed the project he delved into deeper detail on the car’s development and positioning.

“That will be a new model. Not a derivative, a new one. That’s our plan,” he says.

“It’s easier to do it that way because the package is easier. It is quite difficult to build a flat electrified car.”

Tietz stressed that the brand’s first EV will be nothing like the baby BMW i3 electric car, but will be a ‘proper’ Bentley.

“It has to be luxury. We are thinking about an extraordinary luxury car for big cities. So this is the direction.

“We don’t build a small car. It will be a luxury car with enough space to sit in.”

Tietz laughed at the suggestion that city dwellers are limited by the availability of parking spaces in multi-story buildings.

“Normally our customers have enough parking places, even if they live in towns,” he said.

Tietz said he is pleased with the currently Bentley model line-up, but will not discuss a potential compact SUV to sit below the Bentayga that now accounts for around half of the brand’s sales.

“We have sold 10,500 cars last year, which is close to the record year in 2017. And the demand is there.

“We have a good start in this year, and the people are ordering. The number of people who can buy a Bentley is increasing rapidly around the world.

“We have really good products now with the Continental [coupe] and the convertible and some new cars coming up. We will have another launch this year [most likely a new Flying Spur sedan] that you will see.

“And we have the centenary celebrations. The start of the celebrations will be in June and July.”

Tietz also said the challenges for Bentley are what drive him.

“I live for problems. If there are no problems I have no fun.

“You need challenges every day. If everything is sorted out, and everything runs perfectly, there is no fun.

“It’s like motorsport; if there are no issues there are no challenges. I love to sit with my guys and discuss how to solve problems.”

Despite the confirmed commitment to electrification, Tietz -- a former senior engineer at Porsche -- says he is looking much deeper into the future.

“It is a time of amazing change. It’s the best time in the automotive industry.

“All the powertrains are moving rapidly, moving to electrification. But who knows what’s next?

“I think the battery car is just a bridging technology. It will all change rapidly now in the next 10 to 20 years.”