Bentley designing coupe using Porsche's EV tech?

The model will be a four- or five-seater, but it won\'t be an SUV.

Porsche will let sister company Bentley borrow its electric vehicle technology for a flagship model, according to a recent report.

The yet-unnamed car will ride on the same J1 platform as the Mission E sedan, which Porsche will introduce before the end of the year. Top-spec variants will come with two electric motors, a lithium-ion battery pack, and up to 600 horsepower. The model will perform the benchmark zero-to-60-mph sprint in about 3.5 seconds in its fastest configuration. It could offer wireless charging, too.

"A full electric Bentley is something I am extremely convinced we have to do. The next step for sure is an electric, unique Bentley that isn't based on an existing car but a completely fresh and new development, with electric propulsion and obviously different proportions following the function," Stefan Sielaff, the company's design director, told British magazine Auto Express.

Sielaff explained adding an electric car to the firm's portfolio gives his team the chance to explore an all-new design language. While he stopped short of revealing more details, his comments suggest the company's first EV won't borrow many styling cues from the EXP 12 Speed 6e concept (pictured) introduced last year in Geneva.

Instead, the model will take the form of a four- or a five-seater that will offer enough trunk space to carry "a little bit of luggage." That means it could morph into an SUV, or it could arrive as a sportier coupe or sedan. Sielaff added he doesn't like the idea of an SUV, and we know the Mission E's platform can't handle that body style, so odds are the Bentayga won't get an electric sibling anytime soon.

Bentley hasn't commented on the report so we're taking it with a grain of salt. What's certain is the Bentayga Hybrid introduced recently at the Geneva auto show won't be the brand's last gasoline-electric model. Bentley remains committed to offering all of its models with an electrified option by 2025.

Photography by Ronan Glon.