Bentley’s 1st EV to Sit at Lower End of LineupBentley
The first electric vehicle to reach production in Bentley’s long, proud history is finally set to land on sale in the fall of 2027—and when it does, it will likely come in closer to the entry-level part of the carmaker’s portfolio than the top end, according to president and CEO of Bentley Americas Mike Rocco.
“We’ll show the car, start teasing the car, latter part of this year,” Rocco told Road & Track during a sit-down at the 2026 New York International Auto Show. “[And the] car will come to market [in the] late third quarter of 2027.” The MSRP, he said, will “probably be in the lower end” of the current lineup, although “we’re still working” to set that—though he added, “we think we have the right price point.”
Of course, assuming September or October of next year look anything like the new car market of today, it may not seem like the ideal time to push an electric car into the ultra-luxury vehicle sphere. Sales of the Porsche Taycan and Rolls-Royce Spectre, for example, have lost altitude like Snoopy after tangling with the Red Baron.
Crewe and its crew, unsurprisingly, are aware: “Obviously, we’re keeping a very close eye on what’s happening in the EV market,” he said. One way to try and avoid such a fate for the new car: sell it on its other strengths, rather than its lack of need for high-proof distilled dinosaur. “A lot of work, a lot of research has gone into this vehicle,” he said. “People will know it’s an EV, but that won’t be the lede, believe me. This is the new Bentley urban SUV.”
Bentley
As befitting its city-centric placeholder of a name, the crossover, he added, will be focused more on driving on-pavement than holding its own off-road in the manner of even the Bentayga. And trial balloons in key metropolises suggest good things; at clinics in Miami and Los Angeles, he reveals, eight out of 10 people who saw the new electric Bentley said they would buy it.
Before the electric SUV debuts, though, Bentley has the hardcore new Continental Supersports to bring to market in all its Ozempic-improved glory. The decision to push the super-GT to the limit by doing things like shaving half a ton of mass off the base car and switching from all-wheel drive to rear-wheel power, he says, was pushed hard by some of the men in the big chairs in Crewe.
“A lot of it, honestly, was driven by our CEO, Frank[-Stephen] Walliser, and Christoph Georges, board member for sales and marketing,” he said. “Frank comes from Porsche—30 years. We all know what he’s done/ He wanted to … really kind of focus on the performance aspect of Bentley. Christoph has always loved Supersports; he’s actually owned one.” Board member for research and development Dr. Matthias Rabe, Rocco added, also played a big role in moving the sportiest Continental across the finish line.
Bentley
“Between, you know, Frank, Christoph, and Matthias, you can feel the excitement back into the brand around the performance of these vehicles,” he said. “Some of our competition are more performance-based, some are more luxury-based. So be it. We can do it all. And I think people see that. [But] you need to remind them on occasion.”
You Might Also Like
