Bentley Shows Off New Electric Vehicle

Bentley debuted the EXP 12 Speed 6e convertible concept at the auto show. But the most important part of the concept couldn't be seen.

Lurking underneath the 6e's skin was the brand's first all-electric concept powertrain. Bentley didn't disclose any details about its size or capacities, but it did dangle juicy hints as to what a future Bentley electric vehicle would be capable of, Automotive News Europe reports.

These included at least a 285-mile range -- enough to drive from London to Paris -- and high-speed inductive or cordless charging.

The super premium automaker is using the 6e to gauge customer interest in a future Bentley EV. Yet Bentley has made no decision on what physical shape its future EV would take.

"If we get a positive answer from our customers then we need to think about how to bring this product to market and which body style we would do," Wolfgang Duerheimer, CEO of Bentley, told Automotive News.

This month Duerheimer and Rolf Frech, Bentley's board member for engineering, confirmed to Automotive News that the brand was considering a smaller SUV below the Bentayga. But the automaker would do so only if the new SUV were fully electric, to avoid cannibalization of the Bentayga, Frech said.

Bentley plans only a single EV model, Duerheimer said, eliminating the possibility of both an electric SUV and an electric car like the 6e.

Nonetheless, the design cues on the 6e carry significant relevance for Bentley since the concept teases a styling shift that is expected to first show up on the third-generation Continental due this year.