Whenever anniversaries come around, they provide automakers with an opportunity for reflecting on past glories while looking forward to future ones. This year, Bentley is celebrating its 100th anniversary. While hitting that mark is an achievement in its own, Bentley is already looking forward to the future.

The official anniversary was celebrated on July 10 at the company’s factory located in Crewe. Bentley showed the concept of the stylish EXP 100 GT, which is an indication of the company’s autonomy and electrification efforts. The company has prided itself on developing luxury cars and the EXP 100 GT concept is no different. Bentley described it as an embodiment of the brand’s future and a blend of craftsmanship, performance, and technology based on its 100 years of experience.

Bentley’s plans for EV technology

The EXP 100 GT is fully electric with battery technology developments. The introduction of solid-state cells gives a car this large the ability to have a range of more than 400 miles on a single charge. Since time is money, the car will be able to recharge to 80% in 15 minutes.

Though this concept car is a pure EV, Bentley sees this as nothing more than an interim solution. Expect future models to also make use of hydrogen fuel cells as a supplement to the battery packs.

What to expect from the EXP 100 GT

Though the spec details are limited, the EXP 100 GT is expected to weigh 4200 pounds, have a top speed of 186 miles per hour, and go from 0-60 in 2.5 seconds. The zero-emissions intelligent vehicle will come with an advanced driver assist system and will come with a personal onboard digital assistant to care for your well-being and health. The digital assistant is expected to be able to check your blood pressure and even arrange natural light and air conditioning to help those with car-sickness.

Exterior specs

The car’s exterior is made from carbon fiber and lightweight aluminum and the paint from recycled rice husks. Despite the passenger cabin’s length, the car has two doors that hinge upwards and outwards, similar to the company’s flying wing logo, with a 118-inch open height. It also keeps the conventional front end despite the lack of need to fit a large engine in there.

The round headlights emulate those of the earlier supercharged ‘Blower’. It, however, incorporates more elements with the front grille’s mesh formed from lighting elements, while the rear lights have additional elements capable of providing different animated patterns.

Another feature of the vehicle’s exterior is the dynamic lighting that lights up when you approach the car, illuminating the matrix grille and running along the car’s bonnet central spine into the cabin.

A look at the interior of the EXP 100 GT

The interior is as luxurious as a Bentley is expected to be. It includes 5,000-year old copper-infused wood retrieved from fallen trees that have been preserved in peat bogs, organic leather-like material made from winemaking byproducts, and touch-points on the dashboard made from Cumbrian crystal.

The carpets are made from British farmed wool, while Hand and Lock, a London-based company, is responsible for the cotton intricately stitched on the door panels and interior surfaces.

The EXP 100 GT also has a reconfigurable layout highlighted by sliding seats that allow multiple options for passenger configuration. The car’s interior is almost completely free from modern controls with the company expecting the gesture control to be able to accomplish more complicated tasks by the time the car hits production.

When will the EXP 100 GT hit the market?

The newly launched concept has confirmed the company’s commitment to making autonomous and electric vehicles that are in line with Bentley’s brand. Bentley expects to make luxurious and large cars like the EXP 100 GT that have a 400-plus mile range in the next 15 years.