Well, it seems that the big guns at Bentley have gone rather mental. They've pulled out the checkbook and scribbled down an astounding figure of $3.09 billion to splash on an electric party. Yes, you heard it right, the chaps at the hallowed halls of Bentley have decided to take the big plunge into the electrified waters and, unsurprisingly, they're doing it with a bang.

Here's what's on the shopping list for this monstrous amount of money: upgrading their factory (obviously, because they're no longer fitting big, shouty engines into their cars), some cutting-edge R&D, and the crafting of five spanking new electric vehicles. The firstborn of this brave new world of electric Bentleys is expected to make its grand debut in 2025.

And the best part is: they aren't just rehashing the same old models and stuffing them with batteries. No, they've got a cunning plan to carve out an entirely new market niche for their electric beauties. The first of these vehicles is currently having its design approved and we should be seeing the first prototypes rolling around early next year.

The quirky thing about these cars is that they'll be using technology supplied by the VW Group, though not all of them will be on the same platform. Now, you might be wondering why Bentley's been dragging its feet getting into EV production. Well, it's simply because the technology wasn't quite up to their exacting standards. You've got to respect them for that.

However, the MEB platform that they've been fussing over has had a facelift and apparently, now it meets their lofty expectations. And here's a spicy bit of information, the first EVs will be built not in Crewe, but in Hanover, Germany. That's right, the firstborn of the Bentley EV family will have a German passport.

But wait, there's more! The first electric Bentley will be sharing assembly space, and a bunch of components, with a new electric Audi. If my sources are right, this Audi is the new A8, which promises to be a rather snazzy creature, retaining a host of features from the Audi Grandsphere concept vehicle.

Now, this new Bentley will likely have two electric motors that together would belt out a whopping 595 horses (450 kW), and an earth-shattering 740 lb-ft of torque. That's nearly as much grunt as the Bentley Mulliner Batur, for those keeping score.

Oh, and one more thing, Bentley's not just swapping out petrol for electrons in their cars, they're doing a complete 180 in terms of their environmental approach. They're looking to become a completely carbon-neutral company. How are they doing this? By fitting their Crewe factory with an additional 10,000 solar panels, taking the total to a rather impressive 40,000 units. They're even going to have their dealerships carbon-neutral by 2025.

And lastly, here's the most outrageous bit. Adrian Hallmark, the big boss at Bentley, has made a rather bold claim. He says that the first electric Bentley will pack as much as 1,400 hp and will rocket from 0 to 60 mph in a mere 1.5 seconds. That's bordering on the ludicrous but given the pace of EV technology, who knows? So, there we have it, Bentley's all set to shock and awe us in the electric era. So get ready, this is going to be one hell of a ride!

Yours truly,

Captain Electro.