Bentley EXP 15 concept previews new design direction

Heritage-Inspired Concept Previews Bentley’s Electric Future

Bentley’s latest concept car is a hulking tribute to the automaker’s past that provides hints about the future. Measuring over 16 feet long, the EXP 15 is inspired by the 1930 Bentley Speed Six Gurney Nutting Sportsman coupe—better known as the “Blue Train”—but provides the first clues of the design language and tech features of Bentley’s first EV, an SUV smaller than the Bentayga due to be revealed in 2026.

In a press release, Bentley emphasized that the EXP 15 is not a direct preview of that SUV (or any other production vehicle, as it’s a static model that isn’t drivable). But “subtle design cues” from that model have been incorporated into the EXP 15’s exterior, and the interior’s tech features could be incorporated into future Bentley models as well.

New Life For An Old Shape

The EXP 15’s namesake received its Blue Train nickname when Bentley chairman Woolf Barnato used it to race a train of that name from Cannes in the south of France to Calais in the north. Barnato made it across the English Channel to London before the train reached Calais, creating a foundational piece of Bentley lore. Ninety-five years later, the distinctive shape of the Bentley Blue Train’s coachbuilt Gurney Nutting bodywork is making a comeback.

Like the Blue Train, the EXP 15 isn’t an SUV. But its tall body sides and upright front end work well in the current era, where SUVs continue push aside traditional cars. They combine with an elongated hood and steeply-raked back window—also prominent features of the Blue Train—to create a look intended to test customer tastes.

“It’s clear that SUVs are a growing segment and we understand the GT market—through four generations of the Continental GT—but the trickiest segment is the sedan because it’s changing.” Bentley design boss Robin Page said in a statement. “Some customers want a classic ‘three-box’ sedan shape, others a ‘one-box’ design, and others again something more elevated. So this was a chance for us to talk to people and get a feeling.”

Design Details Hint At New Direction

Whether a vehicle with this shape will ever roll off the production line at Bentley’s United Kingdom factory is unclear, but the automaker claims some of the concept’s details will. The exterior surfacing, meant to give the EXP 15 a muscular appearance, will be applied to future models, according to Bentley. The concept’s exterior lighting, including headlights formed from four thin strips and LEDs arranged to suggest Bentley’s current diamond-patterned grilles, hint at what’s possible as well.

The need to maximize range means EVs can’t afford to ignore aerodynamics, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the EXP 15’s front-fender vents and pair of deployable rear spoilers on a production car. The protruding taillights also help channel air around the car, Bentley claims.

Less likely to reach production is the EXP 15’s three-door, three-seat layout. Like an upscale Hyundai Veloster, the concept has one driver’s side door and two passenger’s side doors. In this case, though they’re coach doors that open along with a section of the roof to make ingress and egress easier. A seat that swivels 45 degrees aids in that as well. That seat can also switch from fully upright “Co-Pilot” mode, to slid-back “Standard” mode, to reclined “Relax” mode.

Next-Generation Materials And Tech

The EXP 15 also features an update of Bentley’s current rotating central touchscreen, which can be hidden away when not in use, that now encompasses the entire dashboard. The dash can now switch from a pillar-to-pillar screen to a wood veneer without a pixel in sight. It also incorporates a physical dial that designer call the “Mechanical Marvel,” which can be reconfigured to show the state of charge, direction of travel, and other information.

High-end materials are expected in a Bentley, and the EXP 15 features a mix of old (silk jacquard textile woven at one of the U.K.’s oldest mills) and new (3D-printed titanium trim that reduces weight and waste compared to conventional processes). The concept’s Pallas Gold paint also has an aluminum pigment that allows it to be used on bodywork that covers sensors, which would otherwise be unable to transmit through paint.

Onward To An Electric Future

Bentley didn’t provide much detail on the engineering side of the EXP 15, only saying that it was designed around an all-wheel drive electric powertrain. That will soon become the norm at Bentley which, after roughly a decade of fits and starts, plans to go all-electric by 2035. That shift, heralded by a redesign of Bentley’s iconic logo, will start with the aforementioned smaller SUV, but could encompass more stately models closer to the EXP 15 as Bentley builds out the lineup.