Bentley, the legendary British luxury carmaker, celebrates its centennial anniversary this year. To mark the milestone, the company has introduced the unique EXP 100 GT Concept, a fully self-driving design study that reflects on what cars might look like in year 2035.
The overall design philosophy behind the one-off exhibition piece successfully combines retro and futurism. The most immediate highlight – quite literally – comes in the form of a radiator grille encrusted with 6,000 LEDs. The roof reminds us of the Continental R-Type, and the vehicle measures 5.8 meters (19 ft.) long and 2.4 m (7.87 ft.) wide. It weighs in at 1.9 metric tons (slightly below 4,200 pounds).
The cabin makes intensive use of natural wood, copper, virgin wool, aluminum and several kinds of leather.
An electric powertrain with 1,500 Nm (1,106 pound-feet) of maximum torque takes the EXP 100 GT from standstill to 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds and all the way up to 300 km/h (186 mph). The driving range amounts to 700 kilometers (435 miles), and charging the battery from empty to 80% takes a mere 15 minutes.
Finally, the design study is advertised as a fully autonomous vehicle, meaning that it needs no driver whatsoever.
Even though the EXP 100 GT will never make it into actual production, it will serve as an example and source of inspiration for new Bentley models.