Bentley Heading Back To The Drawing Board For EXP 9 F SUV: Report

The next time you see Bentley's EXP 9 F SUV concept, it might have "Mk II" slapped on the end of its already confusing name.

Revealed at this week's Geneva Motor Show, the long-coming SUV concept represented a departure from the brand's classic style, wearing a suit of complex lines both new and drawn from its existing line-up.

According to a report in British magazine What Car?, anonymous sources at the Volkswagen-owned prestige carmaker have acknowledged that the big SUV concept did not go over quite as well as hoped. 

Describing the EXP 9 F's styling as "a little heavy-handed," the magazine's source reportedly confirmed that Bentley's designers are already working on smoothing out the concept ahead of a return to the motor-show circuit.

The report claims that the revised concept will get smaller headlights, set closer together for a less bulky appearance. Whether the car's designers will revisit the idea behind the carved profile and the roulette wheels at each corner remains to be seen.

Unlike Aston Martin's much-maligned Lagonda SUV concept, understood to have been binned in favour of a new sedan, EXP 9 F SUV is not likely to slunk off into the shadows.

Bentley boss Wolfgang Durheimer has confirmed that an SUV is on the brand's agenda, and the luke-warm response to this week's concept is unlikely to change that.