Report: Bentley EXP 9F close to final production decision, next Continental GT due by 2016
AutomotiveNews of Europe reports that Bentley Motors is close to finalizing its decision to build its EXP 9F Concept SUV. This word comes after the news outlet spoke to Bentley’s CEO Wolfgang Schreiber.
In a bit of a comforting note, Schreiber also said that the production version of the SUV will be geared more towards Bentley’s current design language and will resultantly be less controversial and dramatic.
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“The main intention was not to show the final styling but to get feedback from the market,” Schreiber told AutomotiveNews at the Detroit Auto Show. “If you saw the styling, you would say, ‘That is a real Bentley.’”
He added that the SUV will most likely be an eight-cylinder, with a possible optional W12.
“Bentleys are luxury cars, but people like this effortless acceleration and torquey engines,” Schreiber added.
On a separate page, Schreiber also hinted that the next generation Continental GT will undergo a complete rework and will share a platform with Audi or Porsche. All inclusive Continental models such as the GTC convertible and Flying Spur sedan will follow suit an all be ready to go in five years.
And this comes to no surprise as the previous Continental GT has always been based off of a Volkswagen platform. First it was the Volkswagen D1 platform, which was the same one to underpin the first generation Phaeton—yea, that big super luxurious enlarged Passat (which I also happened to like) that saw a very short life here in the US. And it’s also the reason why I call the Continental GT the “Volksinental GT, the People’s Bentley.” The current GT is based on Volkswagen’s MLB architecture and has been with us since 2011. So a due date of 2016 sounds rather feasible.
– By: Chris Chin
Source: AutomotiveNews of Europe
