It all starts with a slightly lofty, swoopy sedan with leading edge tech smarts.

IMAGINE the EXP 100 GT concept as a four-door sedan with a crossover stance and, according to an overseas report, that’s a fairly accurate representation of the direction being taken by Bentley’s first full electric car.

The pioneering model will be the first of a number of battery-reliant products the Volkswagen Group-owned high-brow Brit brand will deliver into showrooms from 2025, according to latest information rolling out. 

This builds on the November 5 announcement that Bentley will drop all combustion engines in the next decade, will produce plug-in hybrid and all-electric cars starting in 2026 and aim to be all-electric from 2030. 

A new report by the website for top British motoring weekly Autocar suggests Bentley’s first EV will be in the same vein as a Jaguar I-Pace; standing slightly taller to accommodate the underfloor batteries. However, it won’t push up to the extent of a traditional SUV.  

It will also be an electric with a smart edge, being one of the first cars to use a new Audi-developed luxury car platform. 

The architecture is from Project Artemis, an Audi-led initiative aimed at developing new technologies for electric, highly automated cars. 

Artemis cars – the Bentley, an Audi and probably a Porsche at this point - all base off a single reference, which VW Group has recently identified as Landjet, that is less an underpinning in an engineering sense and more a technology set.

Landjet will enable 5G connectivity functions, including extensive use of ‘car-to-X’ features, over-the-air upgrades, and augmented reality, as well as top-of-the-line battery cell, electric drivetrain, and autonomous driving technology.  

Bentley’s specific model plan, Beyond 100, is already under way with two plug-in hybrid models coming out next year, but the bigger step is that breakthrough electric vehicle, coming to market in 2025.

It will have more generous ground clearance than the EXP 100 GT, a highly-acclaimed styling study Bentley revealed last year, but will draw design cues from that car (seen here) and might also have some links with an Audi concept of 2018, called Aicon.

Bentley bosses are not expecting a major leap in battery technology any time soon so the firm’s first electric models will be designed to match the range and weight limitations of current systems with Bentley’s luxury positioning, the report says. The result will be models that differ significantly from Bentley’s current line-up.

Bentley chairman Adrian Hallmark has told Autocar his company hasn’t decided whether future electric models will take on the nameplate and lineage of existing combustion-engined cars.

“Our position is to look at customers and segments. As well as moving to electric, we’re going to adapt our product range because the world is changing.

 “We want to appeal to more women and be more relevant in future urban environments which are very much different to today, and we want to appeal to modern luxury values which are different to ones from 20 years ago.”

Bentley’s ambition synchs into Volkswagen Group’s broader strategy to become a leading producer and seller of electric, connected cars. The Group has set a target to sell about one million electric cars per year by 2025.