Bentley’s First Electric SUV Begins to Take Shape

The Autoblog spy photographers have again caught Bentley’s upcoming Luxury Urban SUV in the wild. That’s a placeholder name, with more emotive nomenclature coming to the production vehicle when it debuts, likely early next year. Bentley has confirmed that the vehicle will measure less than 5 meters (16.4 feet) in length so that it can legally be parked on European city streets overnight, but it will still be very similar in size to the existing (combustion-powered) Bentayga SUV. With 800-volt Premium Platform Electric underpinnings shared with the recently introduced Porsche Cayenne EV, which measures 196.3 inches (4,985 mm), Bentley’s first EV will be within five inches of the 201.8-inch Bentayga. This will make it an imposing EV, and if its output is anything like that of its Porsche cousin, there will be loads of power on tap.

Bentley Luxury Urban SUV Has Plenty in Common with Cayenne EV

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At the front of the vehicle, the lower intakes feature a mesh grille in the pre-production bumpers, but a closer look indicates that this is just garnishing, with active aero flaps hiding behind the honeycomb. Like in a Porsche, this will help reduce aerodynamic drag, with the flaps opening when extra cooling is necessary. We’ve already seen inside the new Bentley cabin, where two-tone leather ensconces the occupants in luxury, and we know that the EV will have a dual-pane glass roof, which we expect to share Variable Light Control technology with the Cayenne. Also like the Porsche, we can expect a plethora of screens, including a curved central display and a passenger screen. Unlike the Porsche, however, which has traditional stalks behind the steering wheel, the Bentley EV will borrow a multi-function stalk from Audi, as seen in the 2026 Q3. This integrates column shifter, headlight controls, and windshield wipers into a one-piece, two-part element behind the left spoke of the steering wheel.

As for performance, the Cayenne Turbo EV makes up to 1,139 horsepower, which should be more than enough for the city-dwelling Bentley SUV. If not, Porsche is already working on an even more hardcore Cayenne EV, and learnings from this may well appear in a future ‘Speed’ version of the Bentley.

Bentley’s New Styling Direction Remains Puzzling

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The prototype in these spy photos continues to wear cladding and temporary bodywork to confuse us, though the quad elements in the headlights seem production-worthy. All we know for sure is that the traditional rounded headlights worn by recent Bentleys won’t carry over. This development mule also looks unlike the futuristic EXP 15 concept revealed last year, though we expect the partially illuminated grille of that design study to influence the EV, as may the illuminated ‘Flying B’ hood ornament. As we approach the final third of 2026 Q1, we expect more camouflage to be gradually dropped, and teaser images of the production design should follow near the end of the year. That is, assuming Bentley doesn’t delay or cancel its EV, as corporate stablemate Lamborghini recently did.