WATCH: Is this what the ultra-rich will be (not) driving in 2035?

Published Jul 11, 2019

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Crewe, England - This, as far as Bentley is concerned, is what the ultra-rich will be wafting around in when the year 2035 arrives.

Built to mark Bentley’s 100th anniversary, the EXP 100 GT concept is a future-focused Grand Tourer that can drive its occupants around autonomously, while using artificial intelligence (AI) to give them an “extraordinary human journey”, but if the mood strikes the owner can still take to the wheel and enjoy driving the good old fashioned way.

Said to be inspired by the company’s intelligent and forward-thinking customers, the car comes with a unique AI system called the Bentley Personal Assistant. The car also features air and sound curation designed to promote a feeling of well-being, while various in-car displays can enhance the ‘grand tour’ experience using augmented reality, or provide a relaxed cocoon on demand. The vehicle also harvests light through its innovative glass roof that’s embedded with prisms, which collect light and transfer it into the cabin using fibre optics. 

Occupants can interact with the AI assistant either through hand gestures or the front and rear Cumbria Crystal interfaces. The system can pre-empt passenger needs and even maximise comfort based on its knowledge of the owner. The Adaptable Biometric Seating with reactive surfaces can adapt to the occupant’s position, and also monitor their temperature and environmental conditions. In fact, biometric sensors are fitted throughout the car and can also track eye and head movements as well as blood pressure.

Passengers can choose from five distinct modes, including 'Enhance', which harvests light, sound and smell from outside of the car to deliver an ‘open air’ like experience, and 'Cocoon', which does the exact opposite, while 'Re-Live' can replay highlights from your journey.

“The Bentley EXP 100 GT represents the kind of cars we want to make in the future,” says Bentley Design Director Stefan Sielaff.

“Like those iconic Bentleys of the past, this car connects with its passengers’ emotions and helps them experience and safeguard the memories of the really extraordinary journeys they take.”

Bentley is renowned for using only the finest cabin materials in its cars, but this one takes that a step further by ensuring that its opulent surfaces are also sustainable. 

The Compass exterior paint, for instance, is made from rice husks that would have ended up on a landfill, while the organic leather-like textile is a byproduct of wine making and the 5000 year old Copper Infused Riverwood comes from naturally fallen trees that have been preserved in lakes and rivers.

This sustainable mindset extends to the car’s structure and drivetrain.

Made from carbon fibre and aluminium, the EXP 100 GT weighs just 1900kg, and is fully electrically powered.

Its four electric motors, with a combined torque output of 1500Nm, get the Grand Tourer from 0-100km/h in under 2.5 seconds, while the batteries, which offer five times the conventional energy density, allow a driving range of up to 700km between charges.

The EXP 100 GT remains strictly a concept car for now, but its exterior design does explore the brand’s future design direction, Bentley tells us, while its futuristic features certainly do show us the kind of ideas circulating at the Crewe headquarters.

IOL Motoring

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