Just as awkward is the 'ute concept's name: the EXP 9 F, which is about as imaginative and puzzling as its styling. If you were to task a sophomore Photoshop wizard to digitally create a Bentley SUV, this would be the result. And that's probably the most disappointing aspect of the EXP 9 F – its utter predictability.
Grabbing bits from the Mulsanne and Continental range, mounting them up front, raising the ride height and then adding a liftback hatch is the easy way out. Same for the interior, which takes Bentley's bespoke aesthetic and gives it the Big Gulp treatment. Maybe we're too plebeian, but for this ute's target demographic, it just doesn't carry the gravitas you'd expect of something this large wearing the Flying B.
The same applies to the drivetrain, which utilizes the 6.0-liter W12 that's been doing duty in the Continental for years. The only interesting propulsion proposition is the possible fitment of Bentley's new V8, augmented with an electric motor and battery pack to make the world's largest and least efficient plug-in hybrid.
It's just bad on all sides, so like the Aston Martin Lagonda concept before it, we're hoping Bentley sees the light, heads back to the drawing board and comes up with something befitting of such a storied marque. Just after it quietly pulls it off the show stand, just like Aston did two years ago.
