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Bentley's first electric car will arrive in 2025 at the earliest

Now that it's back in the black, Bentley is busily planning its move into the electric car segment. The company's chief executive shed light on how his team will link the past and the future. When it comes to new products, company boss Adrian Hallmark told Automotive News Europe that "it's all about electrification." The first Bentley with a plug is the Bentayga Hybrid unveiled at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show. Looking ahead, an electric car will join the range, but executives haven't decided what form it will take, or what it will be powered by. Several options remain on the table. What's certain is that Bentley won't stuff an electric powertrain into one of the cars in its current portfolio. "We could take one of the existing nameplates, and that could be the first electric car, but we wouldn't take an existing car and try to fit batteries into it, because there's a compromise from a range and efficiency point of view," Hallmark explained. The challenge isn't simply to make an electric Bentley; the British firm wants to ensure its first battery-powered model credibly lives up to the badge on its nose. That means it needs to blend effortless power with an acceptable amount of driving range. Bentley is part of Volkswagen, so using one of the platforms in the group's growing arsenal of architectures isn't out of the question. And, Hallmark affirmed engineers will take advantage of the innovative packaging possibilities made possible by electric powertrains. He explained the firm isn't about to release a Mini, but an electric Bentley could have a smaller footprint than, say, a Mulsanne while offering a comparable amount of interior space. He cited the Jaguar I-Pace as an example, which he said is nearly 14 inches shorter than Land Rover's Range Rover, yet is about as spacious inside because electric motors require less space than a comparable gasoline- or diesel-burning engine. The trade-off is that an electric Bentley would need a sizable battery pack, and designers would likely have to put the car on stilts to leave enough room in the cabin for people and gear if they were to pen an electric car in 2020. Solid-state battery technology will solve that problem when it's ready for production, according to Hallmark, though he didn't reveal whether he's open to waiting for the new chemistry or if Bentley's first electric car will ship with a lithium-ion battery pack.

2017 Bentley Mulsanne Speed is more ostentatious than ever

As it was, the Bentley Mulsanne was a pretty bold and ostentatious (and totally awesome) show of luxury. It was big and brutal in a classically British way, but it was also outperformed and out-teched by more modern (and cheaper) luxury sedans from Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and even Audi. Buying one was a classic case study in vehicular statement-making, a vote for old-school refinement instead of modern gee-whizzery. Bentley clearly recognized that fact, because it's doubled-down on the big Mulsanne's aristocratic, give-no-craps demeanor as part of its latest aesthetic update. We love it. For one, the car on display in Geneva is painted is painted in an eye-catching (and questionable) metallic yellow-green. It is not subtle, but weirdly, it kind of works. The new, even more imposing grille is similarly blunt. It's been stretched three inches and is now home to polished stainless steel vanes. As we explained in our original post on the Mulsanne, the new headlight arrangement seeks to eliminate the "droopiness" of the current car. The LED units largely succeed, while somehow giving the front end an even snootier look. Styling changes elsewhere are subtler, which is to say there's still no mistaking the Mulsanne for anything else. The tail gets tasteful new LED lights, while changes along the long, smooth profile look to be nonexistent. It's a similar story in the cabin, which is a place filled with leather, chrome, and wood. It's proper and restrained, in contrast to the look-at-me face. But don't let the handsome and clean interior fool you – the only thing less subtle than the Mulsanne's new front fascia is the performance of this Speed variant. The 6.75-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 continues to reside under hood, turning out 530 horsepower and 811 pound-feet of torque. That's good for a 4.8-second 0-60 time and a 190-mile-per-hour top speed. Those are impressive figures for a genuine sports car, but they're just hilarious in a vehicle the size of a New York City apartment and the weight of a piece of construction equipment. The Mulsanne is an unnecessary, silly vehicle – a Mercedes-AMG S65 is a much better value. But simply put, few cars make such a bold statement about your wealth and power.

VW makes $23K on every Porsche sold, more than Bentley or Lamborghini

It's a good time to be in the luxury car business. In Volkswagen Group's financial report for the 2013 fiscal year, it is revealed that that Porsche enjoyed an operating margin of 18 percent. That means the Stuttgart brand made on average about $23,200 per car sold, according to BusinessWeek. Bentley wasn't far behind, and Audi (which was combined with Lamborghini) posted a 10.1 percent margin. This compares to only around 2.9 percent for the Volkswagen brand.
"Luxury brands are on fire," said Dave Sullivan, an industry analyst at AutoPacific. He said that the average profit margin is between six and eight percent. Brands like Porsche and Bentley have the benefit of competing in rarefied markets. Buyers looking at one their vehicles have fewer models to shop against and don't care as much about price. They can also charge more for options, which further boosts income, according to BusinessWeek.
In a way, we should be more impressed by the continued success from Audi. Its models generally have direct competitors in every segment from the other premium automakers. Plus, their buyers aren't the captains of industry who are shopping for a Bentley. Still, the Four Rings is leading rivals in sales so far this year.