Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept: a glimpse of what’s to come arrives at the Geneva motor show

SURPRISE CONCEPT MAY HINT AT NEW BENTLEY SPORTS CAR

The Bentley Continental GT has been wearing the same basic lines for over a decade now, and though it’s hardly a bad-looking way to get around, even its biggest proponents are probably wondering where the British automaker is going to be taking things stylistically in the near future.

Bentley could certainly do far worse than the EXP 10 Speed 6 concept, which just made a surprise debut at the Geneva motor show.

Bentley pulled the covers off the EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at the 2015 Geneva motor show. According to Bentley, the fastback two-door could hint at a future sports car.PHOTO BY BENTLEY

We say “surprise” because we didn’t see this one coming; there was no relentless teaser campaign alerting us to its impending grand debut. If anything, we were expecting something related to the upcoming Bentayga SUV; instead, we get a large-but-elegant two-seat grand tourer in deep green (Bentley says it’s a metallic take on classic BRG) with an absolutely knockout interior. As far as these things go, this is definitely not a disappointment.

The name seems like an obvious tribute to the Bentley Speed Sixes, which made their debut in 1928 and won glory on the racetrack with the famous Bentley Boys behind the wheels. Those cars were powered by massive inline-sixes -- hence the model name -- but Bentley has supplied no information about this concept’s hypothetical powertrain. While you could certainly fit a massive six-cylinder under its long hood, all we can do, for now, is speculate. There is a white "6" peeking out from behind the mesh grille, a nice throwback touch that fans of the marque ought to appreciate.

Bentley pulled the covers off the EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at the 2015 Geneva motor show. According to Bentley, the fastback two-door could hint at a future sports car.PHOTO BY BENTLEY

Fortunately, there’s enough going on outside of the engine compartment to keep us occupied. The sculpted, carved-out sides are the biggest and most dramatic departure from the Bentley status quo. Oval taillights are mirrored by the rifled oval exhaust tips, a trademark of Bentley’s “Speed” series cars. Of course, there’s a massive Bentley grille up front, and it’s flanked by headlights that look almost circular from dead-on -- one feature carried over from the controversial EXP 9 SUV concept.

Play a round of “spot the styling cues” and you'll note there’s a bit of Jaguar and Aston Martin in the proportions of this Bentley's fast-backed lines, but we’re not really complaining. If anything, the EXP 10 Speed 6 fits into what we can only call the emerging British GT vernacular.

Should it be built, the car wouldn’t necessarily be an outright replacement for the stalwart Continental GT. “It could be a future model line, alongside the Continental GT and redefining the pinnacle of another market sector, and the styling of the EXP 10 Speed 6 could influence the expansion of the Bentley family," says Bentley Motors chairman Wolfgang Dürheimer. “This is not just a new sports-car concept -- but the potential Bentley sports car -- a bold vision for a brand with a bold future.”

Replacement for a current model or supplement to the current Bentley lineup, we wouldn’t mind seeing the EXP 10 -- or at least parts of it -- make it to production in the near future.

Bentley pulled the covers off the EXP 10 Speed 6 concept at the 2015 Geneva motor show. According to Bentley, the fastback two-door could hint at a future sports car.PHOTO BY BENTLEY