A Bentley for a modern Bond

• 200mph coupe Exp 10 Speed 6 launched at Geneva Motor Show today
• Estimated £130,000 price tag when it goes on sale within three years
• Bond characters have driven Aston Martins on screen for five decades
• Bentley chiefs want smaller but sporty 'baby' to take on other brands

A top-secret sporty new 200mph ‘baby’ Bentley fit for a 21st century James Bond broke cover tonight.

The wraps came off Bentley’s stunning new two-seater Aston Martin rival on the eve of the Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland.

The prototype coupe will be available for an estimated £130,000 price tag when it goes on sale within three years.

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Bentley 'baby': The EXP 10 Speed 6 is pictured today ahead of the 85th International Motor Show in Geneva

Unveiling: Bentley CEO Wolfgang Durheimer speaks next to the EXP 10 Speed 6 at the event in Switzerland

And Bentley bosses believe the two-seater GT grand tourer is just the job to tempt 007 to ‘defect’ from his big screen affair with Aston Martin stretching over five decades and go back to his first love from the original Ian Fleming books: a Bentley.

Bond’s relationship with Aston Martin dates back to the original DB5 in Goldfinger to the new DB10 in the forthcoming movie Spectre.

Bentley executives have spoken over the past year about their desire to produce a new smaller but sporty ‘baby’ Bentley to take on Aston Martin, Ferrari and Maserati.

It comes as Bentley also prepares to launch its first 4x4 sports utility vehicle called Bentayga.

Leading motor magazine Autocar produced images of how the sleek new two-seater to be built at Crewe would look. But there was a chance tonight to see the real thing in the metal.

The new car is likely to be powered initially by a specially-tweaked 500 brake-horse-power 4.0 litre twin-turbo engine introduced recently into other Bentley models. 

Through the smoke:The wraps came off Bentley’s stunning new two-seater Aston Martin rival today

Favourite: James Bond’s relationship with Aston Martin dates back to the original DB5 in Goldfinger to the new DB10 in the forthcoming movie Spectre. He is pictured last month with the DB10 during filming in Rome

But higher powered options are also likely to match the 200mph top speed of other cars in the Bentley range.

We’ve got a very good Bond at the moment in Daniel Craig. It would take a lot of years to get him to defect from Aston Martin. But we’re working on it

Kevin Rose, Bentley sales director

And though already widely dubbed Bentley’s new ‘baby’, bosses stressed that it will not be a noticeably small car, despite having fewer seats and just two doors.

It is set to sit alongside the existing Bentley Continental GT rather than below it, say insiders.

The British-based but German-owned luxury car firm is part of the giant Volkswagen Group and employs nearly 4,000 people at Crewe.

The car was the star of the packed Volkswagen Group night in Geneva which attracted hundreds of journalists and executives.

Bentley sales director Kevin Rose said: ‘Emotionally for an Englishman it’s fascinatingly attractive. And we’ve got a very good Bond at the moment in Daniel Craig. 

Interior: Bentley executives have spoken over the past year about their desire to produce a new smaller but sporty ‘baby’ Bentley to take on Aston Martin, Ferrari and Maserati

On the road: Bentley bosses believe the two-seater GT grand tourer is just the job to tempt 007 to ‘defect’ from his big screen affair with Aston Martin stretching over five decades

‘It would take a lot of years to get him to defect from Aston Martin. But we’re working on it.

NEW 4x4 OUT THIS YEAR 'TO HELP BENTLEY DOUBLE RECORD SALES'

Bentley is on track to double its record sales to more than 20,000 on the back of the new 4x4 to be unveiled later this year, before going on sale next year at around £130,000.

Last year Bentley sold a record 11,020 sportily luxurious limousines, coupes and cabriolets.

But Bentley expects the new sports utility vehicle to increase sales to 20,000 a year by the end of the decade after hitting 15,000 deliveries by 2018 - and is already expanding its factory to cope with it and other new models.

Bentley’s chief executive Wolfgang Duerheimer said last month: ‘We think the success of the SUV will lift us into a new dimension.’

He added that Bentley would remain British, even if the UK voted to leave the European Union, saying: ‘The bright future is based in Britain and in Crewe.’

Bentley said more than 4,000 potential customers have already expressed an interest in the new luxury off-roader without having seen it.

He added: ’There’s a lot we could do. The idea of a fifth line is attractive. We seriously not short of ideas but a small car could be something we could do.’

’The advantage of a smaller car is that it would enable us to have something to go up against Aston Martin or Maserati.’

However, small will not mean cheap - as prices are expected to range from £120,000 to £140,000.

Regarding the forthcoming Bentayga 4x4, Mr Rose added: ‘There’s nothing to say James Bond might not drive a sports utility vehicle.’

Autocar editor-in-chief Steve Cropley said Bentley was out to ‘steal Aston Martin’s lunch’.

He said: ’Bentley will unveil a super performance front-engined two-seat sports GT at the Geneva Motor Show.

‘It is a preview to a new model aimed squarely at stealing sales from Aston Martin and Ferrari.’

He noted: ‘Bentley is likely to say the car’s main purpose is to test the reaction of potential new customers.’

But Bentley’s well-established track record is to show first, then build later. Mr Cropley said: ‘The new two-seat coupe would extend Bentley’s product portfolio to five distinct models.’

In the original Ian Fleming books, Bond drove a powerful ‘blowers’ Bentley with a supercharged engine.

Luxrious: Bentley codenamed its new two-seater 'baby' Exp 10 Speed 6 and said it was 'a potential future model line'

Looking inside: The car was the star of the packed Volkswagen Group night in Geneva which attracted hundreds of journalists and executives

Bentley codenamed its new two-seater 'baby' Exp 10 Speed 6 and said it was 'a potential future model line'.

A British interpretation of a high performance two-seater sports car using modern automotive design, highly skilled handcrafting, the finest materials and advanced performance technology

Bentley spokesman 

A company spokesman said: 'The concept is a British interpretation of a high performance two-seater sports car using modern automotive design, highly skilled handcrafting, the finest materials and advanced performance technology.' 

Wolfgang Dürheimer, chairman and chief executive of Bentley Motors, said: 'Exp 10 Speed 6 is one vision for Bentley’s future – a powerful, exquisite and individual concept.

‘The showcar has the potential to be the new pinnacle luxury two-seat sports car. It offers thrilling, driver-oriented performance, complete with trademark modern Bentley luxury and effortlessness. '

He added: 'It could be a future model line, alongside the Continental GT and redefining the pinnacle of another market sector, and the styling of the EXP 10 Speed 6 could influence the expansion of the Bentley family.

‘This is not just a new sports car concept – but the potential Bentley sports car – a bold vision for a brand with a bold future'.