Bentley's EXP 10 Concept Car Is The Posh British Alternative To A Ferrari 458

The Geneva motor show is in full swing, with the Honda Civic Type-R finally making an appearance, and Bentley pulling the covers off this: the EXP 10. It’s currently just a concept, but this two-seater sports car is previewing something that’ll almost certainly get built, and is likely to take on Ferrari and McLaren head-on.

Ferrari has the eccentric, passionate corner with the 458 Italia, while McLaren has the sophisticated, clean-cut buyer thanks to the 650S. But Bentley has entered the market with a decidedly British approach - ‘luxury and performance’ working together with ‘highly skilled handcrafting, the finest materials and advanced performance technology’. Honestly, this is so British I’m surprised it’s not wearing a top hat.

The new car would be built to sit alongside the Continental GT, however it’d be more performance-oriented than its sibling. The concept car uses a hybrid system, though no further details are forthcoming, except that ‘Performance goals including top speed are set to challenge competitors and define a new segment benchmark.’ So it’ll be bloody quick then.

The EXP 10 also previews future design language, though we’re not sure that headlight design should ever make it to an actual production car (the narrow rear lights look fantastic, though). There’s a lot of the usual press release gumph about the design being ‘muscular’ and ‘athletic’, but the most interesting thing is the modern take on traditional Bentley design features, such as the front grille. For a brand with so much history, it’s cool to see an acknowledgement of its past.

A production version of this car would likely cost you somewhere in the region of £120,000, so if you fancy a decidedly British take on the sports car market, you better get saving.