Bentley EXP 15 concept hints at brand’s unconventional take on luxury EVs

Bentley has taken the covers off its EXP 15 concept, offering an early look at the brand’s approach to its first electric vehicle, expected in 2026. Rather than following traditional design paths, the EXP 15 leans heavily into experimentation, both in form and layout, with clear references to the company’s past.

An unusual layout

The three-seat layout of the EXP 15 draws direct inspiration from the 1930 Bentley Speed Six “Blue Train," a car named after a publicity race involving Bentley’s then-chairman Woolf Barnato and a French train. That historical connection is visible in the car’s shape and seating arrangement: a right-hand driver’s seat with two staggered passenger seats behind.

The door layout is also unconventional, with two doors on the left side and one on the right. A custom dog bed ahead of the rear passenger seat and picnic chairs integrated into the tailgate point to lifestyle-focused additions not commonly seen in production vehicles.

No Engine, No Grille, New Priorities

Without a combustion engine to package, Bentley’s designers have rethought proportions and features. The EXP 15 retains a long front section, not for performance hardware but to house twin storage compartments accessed through centre-hinged panels. The traditional front grille has been replaced by a decorative lighting element, which Bentley calls “digital art."

Inside, the concept mixes digital screens with physical controls, and uses materials from longstanding British textile suppliers. As screens fill the dashboard, physical switches and conventional textures are still there, suggestive of a hybrid solution instead of a complete digital shift.

Straddling segments in a shifting market

Bentley's design chief Robin Page admits the EXP 15 does not neatly fall into a single class of vehicle. Its proportions sit somewhere between a coupe, sedan, and SUV—likely a response to the evolving preferences in the luxury segment. According to Page, customer expectations around sedan design are diverging, and the EXP 15 was developed in part to gauge interest in new formats.

Balancing experimentation with brand familiarity

In spite of its unorthodox layout, the EXP 15 still retains several fundamental characteristics of the modern Bentleys—grand size, aggressive road presence, and focus on long-distance comfort. Ettore Bugatti once supposedly described early Bentley 3-Litre as "the fastest lorry in the world," underlining the firm's tradition of combining performance with bulk. The EXP 15, electric and asymmetrical as it is, follows that same path of embracing size and distinctiveness, even if the execution feels more speculative than production-ready.

The concept’s value lies less in being a preview of a specific model and more in showing how Bentley is grappling with what a luxury electric vehicle could be—one that may not need to look or function like anything the brand has produced before.

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