By IOL Motoring Staff
Geneva Motor Show - The EXP 10 Speed 6 concept, centrepiece of the Bentley stand at the 2015 Geneva motor show, is Crewe's take on the future of luxury sports cars.
It's a quintessentially British interpretation of a high performance two-seater using modern automotive design and advanced technology, hand-built with the finest materials.
In his presentation Bentley chairman Wolfgang Dürheimer enthused: “This is not just a sports-car concept, but a potential Bentley sports car. The show car could become a future model line, alongside the Continental GT.”
The brief was to create contemporary styling from classic starting points, starting with a new interpretation of the iconic Bentley matrix grille and four round headlights to the paint colour - a deeper, metallic version of British racing green - while the short front overhang, long bonnet, stretched C-pillar and wide rear deck imply effortless performance.
HANDMADE CONTROLS
The interior is styled around a continuous line that runs through the console and into two symmetrical wings before flowing into the doors and looping back into the console armrest. Sports seats in quilted leather share a narrow centre console housing handmade controls and a 12-inch touch screen.
Even the door panels feature Bentley's traditional quilted look - milled directly into solid straight-grain cherry wood, each diamond finished with a copper centre, while the instrument panel includes a mecbanical rev counter on the left of a digital display, combining old-school with modern tech for the best possible reason - because it works.
The space behind the seats is divided into two compartments, designed to house a specially-made four-piece luggage set and trimmed like the rest of the cabin, in Poltrona Frau leather.