New Bentley boss plots 'more extreme' range of cars

Prominent in Walliser’s in-tray is the hot topic of electrification. Bentley’s first electric car was recently postponed to 2026, due to a slowdown in EV demand.

That car, which won’t replace anything in the current line-up, is tipped to be a Porsche Taycan-sized, crossover-esque saloon, and Walliser half-confirmed as much by agreeing that aerodynamics will be a design priority for the car.

Bentley will start testing prototypes within a few weeks, said Walliser, but if his arrival has any effect on the production car (“we have specialists for this”), it will be reflected strictly in their refinement and how they drive.

Having masterminded Porsche’s influential 918 Spyder supercar of 2014 and been its head of motorsport for five years, Walliser is well prepared for the inevitable Bentley-in-motorsport question. He readily agrees that racing fits perfectly with Bentley’s heritage and that Le Mans is the natural link. “When you have models called Mulsanne and Arnage, it shouldn’t even be a question,” he said.

However, he added: “If you ask me whether it would be appropriate to go now, I’d say no. Our priorities are electrification and growing the company, because you need money for racing.

“Being a CEO is very different from being a head of motorsport: you have to worry about the health of the whole company, not just starting a new adventure.”

When Walliser arrived at Bentley, he was surprised by the excellence of the cars (“some are rather underrated”) and by the extent of the VW Group’s recent investment in new facilities at Crewe (“it’s a huge positive”).

There’s “lots of respect” for Bentley inside Porsche, said Walliser, especially as the British firm produces such high quality despite being relatively small. “People over there see Bentley’s interior quality and wonder how we deliver it,” he said. “Bentley is also the VW Group company they say they most enjoy working with, because of the passion.”