According to foreign media reports, Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark said that the company’s first pure electric car will have an output of up to 1,400 horsepower and a zero-to-zero acceleration time of just 1.5 seconds. But Hallmark says quick acceleration isn’t the model’s main selling point.
Image credit: Bentley
Hallmark revealed that the main selling point of the new electric car is that the car has “huge torque on demand, so it can overtake effortlessly”. “Most people like 30 to 70 mph (48 to 112 km/h), and in Germany people like 30-150 mph (48 to 241 km/h),” he said.
Compared to internal combustion engines, electric powertrains allow automakers to exponentially increase vehicle acceleration. The problem now is that the speed of acceleration is beyond the limits of human endurance. Hallmark said: “Our current GT Speed output is 650 horsepower, then our pure electric model will be twice that number. But from a zero acceleration perspective, the benefits are diminishing. The problem is that this Acceleration can be uncomfortable or disgusting.” But Bentley decided to leave the choice to the customer, Hallmark said: “You can do zero to zero in 2.7 seconds, or you can switch to 1.5 seconds.”
Bentley will build the all-electric car at its factory in Crewe, UK, in 2025. One version of the model will cost more than 250,000 euros, and Bentley stopped selling the Mulsanne in 2020, when it was priced at 250,000 euros.
Compared to Bentley’s combustion-engined models, the electric model is more expensive, not because of the higher cost of the battery. “The price of a 12-cylinder engine is about 10 times the price of a normal premium car engine, and the price of a normal battery is lower than our 12-cylinder engine,” Hallmark said. “I can’t wait to get the batteries. They are relatively cheaper.”
The new electric car will use the PPE platform developed by Audi. “The platform gives us innovations in battery technology, drive units, autonomous driving capabilities, connected car capabilities, body systems, and those,” Hallmark said.
Hallmark said that in terms of exterior design, Bentley will be updated on the basis of the current appearance, but will not follow the trend of electric vehicles. “We’re not going to try to make it like an electric car,” Hallmark said.
Post time: May-19-2022