Bentley gets an electric makeover: “Have they been exchanging ideas with Jaguar?”

Luxury carmaker Bentley has unveiled a concept design for its first electric vehicle, drawing comparisons to the controversial redesign of Jaguar, another quintessentially British marque.

The EXP 15 concept is a “design vision for the future” inspired by Bentley’s 1930 three-seater Speed Six model, nicknamed the “Blue Train,” the company said in a press release earlier this week.

While the carmaker built a full-size exterior model, the interior was created virtually. Not intended for sale, the concept is meant “to provide clues to the brand’s first full-electric production car” that the company said would be revealed next year.

Bentley presents its latest luxury vision concept inside its brand-new design studio. EXP 15 represents Bentley’s design vision for the future, by taking inspiration from its early 20th century GT heritage.

Find out more: https://t.co/NGHWdBT4Q0 pic.twitter.com/eHZed0Tx9U

undefined Bentley Newsroom (@BentleyComms) July 8, 2025

“The beauty of a concept car is not just to position our new design language, but to test where the market’s going,” said Robin Page, director of design at Bentley, adding that sedans are currently the “trickiest” segment for carmakers.

“Some customers want a classic ‘three-box’ sedan shape, others a ‘one-box’ design, and others again something more elevated. So this was a chance for us to talk to people and get a feeling,” Page said.

Bentley will be glad to be treading more cautiously than Jaguar, which caused some controversy with the radical rebranding last year and the announcement that it would go fully electric by 2026.

It’s hard to overlook the similarities between Bentley’s concept design and that of Jaguar’s new car – something social media users were quick to point out.

“Have they been exchanging ideas with Jaguar?” one user commented under the post on Bentley’s X.

“Jaguar something, something,” said another, posting a picture of a new Jaguar for comparison.

Jaguar something, something....... pic.twitter.com/pNlti4XRQs

undefined TwoBobTrader 🇬🇧 (@TwoBobTrader) July 8, 2025

Others were more brutal, calling the concept an “abomination,” “monstrosity,” and “a shining example of what not to do,” as well as calling Bentley to “sack your designer.”

Much of the criticism is reminiscent of the public reaction to Jaguar’s redesign. However, public sentiment toward Jaguar’s new design appears to have softened since it was first announced, especially after the carmaker debuted its prototype at Paris Fashion Week earlier this year.

Bentley doesn’t appear poised to benefit from the same love-hate relationship to its concept that seems to be working in Jaguar’s favor, with some observers saying it has “zero Bentley design heritage” despite the firm’s claims that it was informed by one of its 1930s models.

“This fabulous car seems to be taken hostage,” one X user said, referring to Bentley’s historic “Blue Train” car.

🥲 This fabulous car seems to be taken hostage. pic.twitter.com/sWTq5bRwPA

undefined GBrecy (@brecy_g) July 8, 2025

The Speed Six model earned its “Blue Train” moniker after a race in 1930 between Woolf Barnato, the company’s then chairman, and a luxury express train, Le Train Bleu, from Cannes in the south of France to Calais in the north.

Barnato reached London in his Bentley Speed Six before the train had even arrived in Calais. Whether the EXP 15 can live up to that legacy remains to be seen – but critics are not so sure.