Bentley’s long and illustrious history in the world of luxury and motorsport makes them one of the most prestigious marques in the world. In the early days of racing the car to be seen in was a Bentley and their drivers were envied the world over as the heroes of their day. Road cars were little more than more comfortable racers and the styling of the hand crafted machines were little different than the cars tearing round the tracks. These days the motorsport heritage of Bentley isn’t as strong as it used to be and their road cars, although synonymous with the finest in luxury and comfort, show little of their racing past and ambition. Their cars ooze style and class in abundance yet have grown into comfortable cruising cars rather than tyre shredding supercars. 
With fans of the marque always keen to see them return to their former glories, Bentley have given a teaser to what they have in the pipeline in the form of the new EXP 10 Speed 6 concept. Shown at the Geneva Motor Show, the model shows a more driver focused model, with a return to their two seat sports car layout and a nod to their illustrious racing heritage. The concept is intended to show the future design direction for the company yet it wouldn’t be surprising to see the model getting a production run in some form or other depending upon the reaction and order queries that are generated.
With the design, as well as the historic name tag, Bentley have drawn on their past to produce a car with sporting pedigree and finishing touches that show the car means business. The shape of the sports car concept is apparently ‘drawn from the form of an aircraft fuselage and the curve of its wings’ although surely the design of their famous Bentley Blower would have been a much better ideal. Its wide stance combined with short overhangs, long bonnet and gaping grille are a sign that the new car means business, adding a touch of retro inspiration to the latter with a vintage ‘6’ sprayed onto the wire mesh for an added nod to their heritage. 
The classic styling of the now familiar grille and headlight arrangement mean it is unmistakably a modern Bentley yet the look has been modified to create a sleeker more purposeful appearance to the front of the car.
Inside the car as you’d expect there are lashings of wood and leather providing a luxurious setting for you to enjoy, more of a gentleman’s racer than a stripped out muscle car. The car will be expected to be just as capable as a GT car then it will as a performance sports car by customers so there are no sacrifices when it comes to comfort in the cabin. Producing a car that is an out and out sports car and sacrificing on luxury accompaniment would just be seen as rude to today’s Bentley client base.
Altogether it is an exciting future glimpse of what Bentley are offering to add to their line-up. A return to their famous sports car past with a hint of vintage racing features and historic details to show the intent of the car and the exciting styling and driver involvement it has to offer. Maybe the promise of a sports car is purely to satisfy the thirst of their current customers, a welcome return to their illustrious racing heritage or maybe they have a longer term plan to disturb a long running collaboration that would improve their image no end. After all it was a Bentley that originally graced Ian Fleming’s novels providing the perfect luxury transportation for a certain Mr Bond, a prestigious product placement that Bentley would no doubt love to have back on their books. 
HYPE Automotive 