CHESHIRE, U.K. – With the memory of Bentley‘s 1930 “Blue Train” Speed Six blasting up the Goodwood estate still fresh in our minds, the idea of an even more sporting vehicle from this venerable marque seems somehow not so implausible. After all, the brand was established by the derring-do exploits of its founders, and the ruggedness of their road-going leviathans once led competitor Bugatti to refer to them as “the world’s fastest lorries.”
The Bentley name has since come to represent grace and refinement with a rarefied air of wealth and privilege. But if there’s one thing the upper echelons resist, it’s change and inclusion. The idea of brand-sharing with new-money commoners in blinged-out SUVs is enough to curl the lip of the staunchest aristocrat, but the gentry have embraced Land Rover since the very first Royal placed a mud-caked wellie on the gas pedal of a Range Rover. Bentley is banking that its new ultra-luxury SUV will appeal to those with “5 or more cars” – one of which is already a high-end utility vehicle.
Luxurious SUVs are a lucrative and growing sector, and one which other uber-exclusive brands like Rolls-Royce and Lamborghini are also planning to enter. It was certainly a game-changer for Porsche, who, like Bentley, operates under the Volkswagen umbrella. The Cayenne was a notable pioneer in the luxury SUV segment and suffered the brunt of brand-purist backlash. But, like most manufacturers of exclusive vehicles, Porsche’s output is small, and the Cayenne helped pull them through the disastrous economic meltdown of a few years back.
Bentley sales increased more than tenfold – from 700 to 12,000 annually – since the introduction of its first mass-produced (yet still hand-built) model, the Continental GT. The automaker is hoping the Bentayga will help it realize an annual sales goal of 15,000 by 2018.
Dr. Marcus Abbott, Bentley’s head of marketing in the U.K., says the Bentayga will be the “most advanced Bentley by some margin.”
Handout, Bentley
The Bentayga will be the “most advanced Bentley by some margin,” said Dr. Marcus Abbott, head of Product Marketing for Bentley Motors in the U.K. Five years and US$800 million later in development, the Bentayga project employed more than 1,000 engineers, and has an “astonishing electrical complexity” governed by 90 different ECUs. Abbott also says the Bentayga will give customers the “ability to take luxury anywhere, so it doesn’t have to stop when the tarmac ends.”
An exclusive unveiling at The Mews – the elegant English country home of Bentley CEO Dr. Wolfgang Dürheimer – revealed a sleek and boldly designed vehicle with (thankfully) no resemblance to the ill-received EXP 9F concept that preceded it.
In profile, there’s a bit of Porsche Cayenne in the Bentley Bentayga.
Handout, Bentley
“The Bentayga has to be 100 per cent Bentley, inside and out,” said Sangyup Lee, Bentley’s head of exterior design. “Timeless but not trendy, substantial yet exquisite.”
In profile, the Bentayga somewhat resembles the Porsche Cayenne. It’s built on the same platform as the Audi Q7 and forgoes the EXP 9F’s boxiness for a faster, more raked outline. The all-aluminum body features character aspects drawn from Continental and Mulsanne – from the sharp character line flowing from the B-shaped front vent, to the separate Continental-style rear haunch and the GT-inspired beltline. The rear glass is very fast, but the long rear overhang prevents this from compromising useable interior space.
Most Bentayga customers likely won’t flog their SUVs through the mountains, but Michael Winkler, Bentley Americas president and CEO, believes it’s important to know that they could.
Handout, Bentley
The blunt prow has the unmistakable face of Bentley, and some very clever engineering went into forming its front fascia almost entirely of aluminum. The mesh grille – incredibly hard, chromed plastic – acts as a crumple zone.
Matrix-beam LED headlights feature delicate, jewel-like bevelling. The dual-feature running lights also act as turn signals, with a body-coloured cap that conceals a high-pressure washer. There are three wheel choices: 20-inch, 21-inch and the 22-inch deeply dished, forged alloys with directional spokes of our reveal model. Behind these are large brake calipers bearing the Bentley “B” on 400 millimetre discs up front and 300 millimetre in the rear.
The Bentayga interior draws inspiration from the Continental and Mulsanne.
Handout, Bentley
It was crucial that the Bentayga, in establishing a benchmark for ultra-luxury SUVs, feature a cabin worthy of the Bentley name. Interior designer Darren Day has created an environment drawing from both Continental and Mulsanne, with every bit as much attention to detail. The traditional Bentley logo influence in the “biplane wing” dashboard wraps around and embraces the cabin.
The dashboard itself is hand-crafted from fine wood veneers, laser-cut to within a 0.1-millimetre gap to sit flush with instrumentation. The switchgear also features the sort of knurling you’d see on fine watches, and traditional analog gauges rest beneath anti-reflective glass.
Second-row seats are identical to the thrones up front, but a three-seat bench is optional.
Handout, Bentley
Seating is wrapped in double stitched, fragrant hides sourced from bug-free, barbed-wire-unmarked German cattle – bulls, no less, which are less prone to stretch marks than cows. Rear seats are duplicates of the fronts: 22-way adjustable, they feature climate control and massage functions, and can be fully reclined. Optional is a three-passenger second-row rear seat with a 60/40 split – and there’s a possible third row to come.
For now, the single powertrain is a new 6.0-litre W12 engine which combines direct and port injection. It features a twin-scroll turbocharger with integrated manifolds, for a 30 kilogram weight saving over the current W12. Mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission, this powertrain puts out 600 horsepower and 664 lb.-ft. of of torque, which reportedly propels the Bentayga from a standstill to 100 km/h in 4.1 seconds. The only global SUV with a 12 cylinder engine, the Bentayga will be the “fastest, most luxurious and most exclusive SUV” in the world, according to Abbott.
The Bentayga will be powered by a new version of Bentley’s 6.0-litre W12 engine.
Handout, Bentley
The Bentayga also underwent vigorous testing to establish that it has genuine off-road credentials, which included Dubai’s Big Red, something of a rite-of-passage for mighty desert trucks. Thanks to its prodigious torque output and electronic complexity, the Bentayga has no need of low-gear locking.
Instead, there’s a sophisticated chassis and suspension setup that features four dynamic modes – Comfort, Sport, Bentley and Custom – and four off-road modes: Snow, Gravel, Mud and Sand. It will raise, for better clearance, or lower, to facilitate trailer hookup.
The Bentayga features a handful of adjustable driving modes and suspension setups.
Handout, Bentley
There’s also a “world exclusive” Bentley Dynamic Ride system that employs electronically controlled anti-roll bars that react within 50 milliseconds to suspension and traction inputs. These can be disconnected for more “rolling comfort, or for additional wheel articulation when off-roading.”
Of course, most well-heeled customers aren’t going to be flogging their über-expensive luxury vehicles through the mountains, but Michael Winkler, Bentley Americas president and CEO, believes it’s important to them to know that they could. Winkler says the Bentayga will open a new realm of possibilities for Bentley customers – from tailgating and glamping, to the sort of frontier exploration excursions that Land Rover so excels at.
The Bentley Bentayga will be officially unveiled at the Frankfurt Auto Show this month, when further information including pricing (expect it above the $200,000 mark) and fuel economy figures will be available. While aluminum bodies are manufactured in Bratislavia with the Audi Q7, the remainder – including interior, chassis and powertrain – will be entirely produced in Bentley’s Crewe, U.K., manufacturing facility.
The Bentayga is scheduled to appear in dealerships by the first quarter of 2016.
