Bentley EXP 15 Concept: A Glimpse at Bentley’s Future

This Bentley EXP 15 concept is the British high-lux firm showing design themes for its entire next generation of cars – the solid and sheer surfaces, the graphics, the absence of chrome. Those flavors will show up on the company’s new EV, an ‘urban SUV’ due in 2027.

But the EXP 15 is also an experiment, an attempt to work out how sedans might evolve, in an era when they’ve dropped out of fashion. CEO Frank Waliser told Autoblog: “Sports coupes are easy for us. Convertibles are easy. SUVs are easy. But this is hard.”

A Nod to Bentley’s History: The Blue Train Inspiration

Inspiration came from one of the most famous Bentleys in history, the 1930 “Blue Train” coupe. That was a one-off car built for the company’s then-chairman Woolf Barnato who’d bet he could beat France’s fastest overnight luxury train across the country. It had a distinctive fastback body and just one (sideways facing) rear seat, so Barnato could either drive or relax in comfort alongside the drinks cabinet.

So the EXP 15 is also a three-seater. The default layout is the driver, and two cocooning rear seats. The space alongside the driver doesn’t only offer vast legroom for the one behind. It can also be configured with fitted luggage or even a dog carrier. Lucky hound.

Innovative Details: Exterior, Interior, and Materials

The body has one driver’s-side door. So far so normal. On the passenger side are a pair of clap-hands doors and a roof that opens upward. That creates a huge unobstructed opening. The rear seat swivels to face outward, so the passenger can stand up and step out to greet the adoring red-carpet crowds.

Critical elements of the EXP 15’s proportions come from that historic Blue Train car, even though it looks thoroughly modern. Head of Design Robin Page cited the ‘endless hood’ – not just because the cab is way backward, but because the illusion is strengthened by an unbroken line running from just above the headlamp right to the tail. The side glazing echoes that old fastback, and also the vertical proportions – body depth is twice that of the windows.

Bentley’s design language has long been about an upright nose, swollen rear haunches, long front and big muscles. But this new car replaces voluptuous surfaces with something more monolithic, and replaces chrome with lighting elements.

Speaking of which, the headlamps are a big departure from the company’s previous round themes, and generated a whole lot of internal debate. The grille admits little air. Its role is mostly an identifying decorative light show.

A Cabin That Blends Tech and Craftsmanship

The driver interface and cabin materials are, the designers say, the most consequential part of EXP 15. The display screens are transparent, so when dark they show real trim pieces behind. The center touchscreen has an element behind the designers call the ‘mechanical marvel’. It’s a circle of fingers radiating out from a central point. Each finger can pivot towards or away from the driver, and illuminate in any color. That gives it a capacity to symbolically relay information in a captivating and original way.

Meanwhile, the digital graphics and sounds use patterns captured from nature, with irregularity and imperfection. It subconsciously adds to the humanizing, hand-built feel when not everything’s perfectly regular and aligned.

The EXP 15 will be going to the Pebble Beach Concours this summer if you’re in the neighborhood and want to take a personal look.