Bling explosion
Don’t worry, it’s not a production car yet, but this is the SUV that Bentley thinks its future customers have been crying out for, writes Dave Moore.
WITH more scoops than an English Sunday newspaper and enough bling to please the brashest of billionaires, Bentley has bypassed its usual penchant for taste and created its first luxury sport utility vehicle.
It’s not the company’s fourwheel-driven vehicle, of course. Various experiments occurred with such systems in the 1930s, and the current Continental and Flying Spur models have powered all four wheels from their outset.
So far, the EXP 9 F is only a concept car, designed as a sounding board for a future third model to sit with the Continental and its derivatives and the Mulsanne model as Bentley’s third modern model lineup.
In the same way that 10 years ago, Porsche noted that the majority of its cars’ owners also had SUVS, and that it surely had a captured market for one with its own brand on it, Bentley has seen its own untapped reservoir of potential appear before it.
Thus, the EXP 9 F is the Crewe, Cheshire, concern’s take on an Suv-like Grand Touring Bentley, a vehicle that ‘‘feels equally at home at an opera gala performance, on the sand dunes and the overtaking lane of the autobahn’’, say Bently’s public relations people.
Key Bentley cues, such as the matrix grille, round lamps and the strong power line and haunch along each flank, are reinterpreted for the EXP 9 F. It all seems to make sense, but the result is an overwrought design that would not look out of place in the forefront of a Thunderbirds production from the 1960s.
A full team of designers had their input into the EXP 9 F’s function and look, although it’s debatable whether they ever met each other in person, for the car’s front, top and sides seem strangely unrelated to each other. Two extra circular holes appear at the ends of the front bumpers, which in a Thunderbirds episode would be explained by some anti-vehicular weapons system, while the awkwardly contoured flanks fail to connect with current or past Bentley models.
However, there is no mistaking at whom the interior design is aimed: kings and queens of bling.
Wood, leather and polished metals such as aluminium, bronze and gunmetal are used to create a sense of luxury. The EXP 9 F’s seating is four plus one, with a rear armrest lifting to reveal a cooled compartment for champagne and glasses.
The seats feature a diamondquilted shoulder line in soft-touch leather, echoing the traditional British field sports jacket.
Rear passengers are given plenty of room, a fold-down keyboard and full internet connectivity, along with a drinks table and an infotainment screen.
When the rear seats are not in use, they can be powered forward to create a larger loadspace for sports equipment or luggage.
When they’re talking sports equipment of course, it’s likely to mean shooting or polo gear.
The lower section of the twopiece tailgate may be used as a viewing bench or picnic table and picnic hampers are provided, of course.
An awning extends over the tailgate to protect those seated there and two umbrellas fit on either side of the rear luggage area for when the weather can’t be commanded to remain fine.
The EXP 9 F’s drivetrain is derived from the Bentley 6.0-litre, twin-turbocharged, W12 engine, with an eight-speed transmission, although the company’s new 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8 or a promised hybrid could be added to the production car’s manifest.
Customer and public reaction will be analysed after the unveiling of the EXP 9F at the Geneva Motor Show this week.
Bentley will be listening to the reaction of customers and potential customers throughout the world, before it makes any definitive commitment to production.
We think there may have to be some refinements to the EXP 9 F before it reaches showrooms, such as a complete redesign maybe?