When we recently spoke to Bentley?s engineering boss Rolf Frech, he also told us some more about his company?s forthcoming EV model, which we told you about last month.
It turns out the story is more complicated than it being a simple spin-off from Porsche?s Mission E project, with Frech saying that Bentley is also considering other powertrain options from elsewhere in Volkswagen Group.
?On the EV side, it?s more about what components are available and what are fitting best to the car we want,? he told us, ?we will not copy the Mission E, we will do it in a typically Bentley way. The question we always ask is what is available in the group?it?s not only the Mission E, there are other possibilities around.?
When asked if the electric Bentley would be a standalone model or a variant of an existing car, Frech said, ?Both are possible; we are prepared for both.? He also admitted that the majority of Bentley models are likely to have some electrical assistance within 10 years. ?I don?t know what percentage of cars will be fully electric [by 2025], but we are prepared to meet market demand [and] be sure that we are looking not only for one solution, but for many.?
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Frech said that the first EV model was more likely to be one aimed at those seeking to be chauffeured rather than drive themselve...