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Ultra-luxury automakers like Bentley and Rolls-Royce need to hurry up with EVs

In the five years that I've worked at Autoblog, I've read a lot of press releases. They're all pretty flowery and self-serving, but the ones that go the extra distance with lavish words and pompous phrasing tend to come from the most luxurious brands, Bentley and Rolls-Royce. And something that they both love talking about is sustainably sourced materials for their vehicles. The descriptions read like they've seen the light about using resources responsibly. That would be great, except for one thing: There's nothing sustainable about multi-ton land yachts with eight or more cylinders. Only one of Bentley's models can be had with fuel economy better than 20 mpg combined when running on gasoline, and guess what, it's not one of the brand's two plug-in hybrids (which are to be commended, but still seem half-hearted when we're talking serious sustainability). And Rolls-Royce is even worse without a single model even hitting 15 mpg combined. These automakers should have at least one EV model apiece. Apparently, there are some coming, but they're still years away, and that frankly shocks and frustrates me for a number of reasons. One of the big ones is that these brands couldn't be better suited to electric propulsion. What makes these cars impressive is their refinement and performance. You can't get much better in either of those categories than with beefy electric motors, which provide nearly silent operation with no gear changes and enormous power and torque ratings. And it's all achievable with a lot less effort than making an 8- or 12-cylinder internal combustion engine quiet and smooth. Sure, battery technology is complicated, and it's expensive and heavy, but all of that is covered by these brand's typical products. They can command prices that would easily absorb the cost of batteries. And the size and weight of current cars mean that loading them up with batteries to achieve range comparable to their gas models wouldn't be a problem, either. Heck, that's the exact strategy being used by GM and Ford to get huge range in their electric trucks. 2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S View 41 Photos And the cost of the EV technology shouldn't even be that great for Bentley or Rolls-Royce, since they're both owned by companies that are leaders in electric car development with existing technology and the ability to spread costs out over various brands.

2016 Bentley Bentayga First Drive [w/video]

There was once a barrier that separated our Arcadian, four-dimensional space from an uncanny cosmos where a $229,100 SUV makes irrefutable business sense. That wall is gone, and the Bentley Bentayga broke it. We're accustomed to powerful SUVs. The Mercedes-Benz G65 AMG makes the Earth weep on account of its 621 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque. The Bentayga is shy of those figures, with 21 fewer horses and 74 fewer pound-feet. We're also accustomed to quick SUVs; the Porsche Cayenne Turbo S hits 60 miles per hour in just 3.8 seconds. The Bentayga runs that race 0.2 seconds slower. And of course, we are accustomed to luxurious SUVs that fear no obstacle or load. The Range Rover Autobiography can swim its leathers and veneers through 35.4 inches of water, surmount nearly 12 inches when toiling off-road, and tow 7,716 pounds. The Bentayga can 'only' manage 19.6 inches of water, 'only' gets to 9.64 inches on its tippy toes, and is 'only' rated to tow 7,714 pounds. None of these facts are listed to harp on the Bentayga. It isn't Bentley's way to make rank by being the best in every category. Instead, the Crewe brand brings all the boys to the yard by merely being excellent across the board. The Continental GT isn't superlative at any one thing, but no other vehicle that can carry four people is as fast and as capable and as dynamic, and only Phantom-level Rolls-Royces can touch it for luxury. The Bentayga is not the Continental GT of SUVs, it is "the Bentley of SUVs." But here's an important clarification: The Bentayga is not the Continental GT of SUVs, it is "the Bentley of SUVs." The automaker describes the mission as, "driving, luxury, performance." The interior advances the current design language with a two-piece instrument panel – an upper portion that slides through the center console in a "U" shape, and a lower portion that connects the console to the center tunnel. Bentley poses this as a riff on its flying wing badge, but it actually comes from interior designer Darren Day's wish to fit an IP with a steeper rake. The size of an instrument panel is limited by the width of the door openings because the dashboard doesn't go in until after the body is welded together. Day wanted passengers to be able to rest their legs on the buttresses tying the IP to the center tunnel, but his one-piece design was too large to fit through the doors.

Bentley EXP 9 F to be redesigned, renamed Falcon?

In concept form, the Bentley EXP 9 F had neither the styling nor the name to impress us when we first saw it earlier this year at the Geneva Motor Show, and while we already knew some sort of design change was imminent, we're unsurprisingly now hearing that a name change is also in the cards. Automobile Magazine is reporting that the eventual production Bentley SUV will get a complete redesign from what we saw in the EXP 9 F, and it will wear a new name as well: Falcon.
The article says that Luc Donckerwolke, Bentley's newly appointed director of design, is giving the SUV a complete redesign from the concept vehicle, which goes against what we last heard of the vehicle in August that a "radical redesign" was not in the cards. Donckerwolke has been on the design team at various Volkswagen Group automakers since 1992, helping to pen such memorable designs as the Lamborghini Gallardo and Murciélago, but now he is tasked with giving Bentley an SUV worthy of its lineup. Last we heard, the model could go into production in 2015, but there is no indication whether the Falcon will get three-row seating or a plug-in hybrid version as has been previously rumored.