RE: Bentley Bentayga - official
Discussion
Looks a lot better than it might have done. I prefer the Continental T / Arnage IE the more traditional type Bentleys, but I would imagine that this new car would be a very pleasant ownership experience.
A diesel may be a step too far though. I would imagine a twin-charged (multi-turbo and supercharged) petrol V6 of about 3 litres would provide enough torque, as that is a major requirement in a Bentley, and also a smaller engine to get round the Chinese market engine size tax legislation.
A diesel may be a step too far though. I would imagine a twin-charged (multi-turbo and supercharged) petrol V6 of about 3 litres would provide enough torque, as that is a major requirement in a Bentley, and also a smaller engine to get round the Chinese market engine size tax legislation.
Edited by myhandle on Wednesday 9th September 11:15
TWPC said:
Gavin Green wrote an interesting piece in Car about whether an ostentatious SUV fitted in with Bentley's heritage and concluded that it did. In fact, building ostentatious products (3 litre, 4.5 litre, Speed Six, Contintental R-Type etc.) to appeal to playboys with sometimes questionable taste and too much money was Bentley's business model in the more distant past.
So there is no betrayal of principle here. Showing off the tourbillon on the dashboard clock is precisely what we should expect.
My view is that it is an overweight, extravagant, irrelevant, ill-proportioned, ugly, offensive machine the sight of which will make me seriously question the judgement of its owner.
Unfortunately I am neither rich, commercially or politically brilliant, titled or likely to inherit a significant amount of money so Bentley will wisely ignore my opinion.
Indeed. In terms of long term brand values, Bentley should have been building gauche, performance SUVs a decade ago when it became clear that the modern, luxury SUV was replacing the traditional luxury saloon. So there is no betrayal of principle here. Showing off the tourbillon on the dashboard clock is precisely what we should expect.
My view is that it is an overweight, extravagant, irrelevant, ill-proportioned, ugly, offensive machine the sight of which will make me seriously question the judgement of its owner.
Unfortunately I am neither rich, commercially or politically brilliant, titled or likely to inherit a significant amount of money so Bentley will wisely ignore my opinion.
Edited by TWPC on Wednesday 9th September 10:01
It may look somewhat awkward but it is 100% honest to the company roots and image. Products for successful tradesmen not established land owners and I think many people seem to be forgetting this.
David87 said:
Is it really the fastest and most powerful SUV in the world, though? Surely the (also deeply ugly) new Tesla thing will beat it on all but V-max?
You mean the Tesla that isn't really an SUV, isn't available yet ("The delivery estimate for new reservations is late 2016" for the UK according to the web site) and will not even get close to that all important headline 300kph top speed?Lets be honest here though. To everyone commenting about the styling - that will have been dictated by what the people who will buy them say that they want and I am sure that they will be the must have item in price insensitive parts of the middle and far East, not to mention the USA. To my mind, all SUVs are either bland or ugly or bland and ugly - I don't see the talking point here... Bland out of the showroom and horrid out of the aftermarket custom shop is how these things just are IMHO - it is not news.
What is a talking point is that this thing is the size of a bus with the aerodynamics of a housebrick, weights almost 2.5 tonnes and hits 100kph in 4.1 and tops out at over 300kph... With the comfort of a well pointed gentleman's club. That is just mental, absurd and more than a little awesome. As others have said - I wouldn't want to own one, but I'd certainly like to have a go...
VW must be pissing themselves laughing.
How much more can this cost to produce than a Q7 (or even Q5!)?
No matter how much money is spent on timepieces glued into the dash and posh wood there is no way that the markup on this isn't huge!
You could get a 6.0 W12 in a toureg couldn't you? I bet the block is the same (or lightly modified)
All the tooling is going to be identical for 99.9% of the sheet metal, castings and moldings.
It's an amazing achievement from a production engineering/marketing point of view, really.
How much more can this cost to produce than a Q7 (or even Q5!)?
No matter how much money is spent on timepieces glued into the dash and posh wood there is no way that the markup on this isn't huge!
You could get a 6.0 W12 in a toureg couldn't you? I bet the block is the same (or lightly modified)
All the tooling is going to be identical for 99.9% of the sheet metal, castings and moldings.
It's an amazing achievement from a production engineering/marketing point of view, really.
In my opinion there are two brands that could have seemlessly transitioned to producing SUVs - Bentley and Lincoln. I have driven a MKX and didn't mind it at all - even the looks worked in the US.
The Bentley Bentayga is a missed opportunity to present a clever, indirect alternative to a Phantom.
The Bentley Bentayga is a missed opportunity to present a clever, indirect alternative to a Phantom.
Edited by Cheapskate on Thursday 10th September 16:31
The interior is most certainly becoming. The engine and transmission, evidently a work of art (they always are) and no doubt, you can transfer many of the parts onto a Volkswagen Golf as will invariably happen.
I predict that demand will outstrip supply as it will be an easy way to demonstrate wealth until Rolls Royce fill the segment.
I look forward to the facelift.
I predict that demand will outstrip supply as it will be an easy way to demonstrate wealth until Rolls Royce fill the segment.
I look forward to the facelift.
DonkeyApple said:
sealtt said:
Now let's wait and see what Rolls Royce produce as their SUV contender, I really struggle to imagine such a cop out from them, so will be great to see what they come up with.
For some reason I keep imagining that the SUV Roller will look like a pre war Wraith. 
Bit of a shame that Bentley felt the need to get involved in the SUV market. I think it detracts from what I think is their primary area of expertise and what they are best known for - big, luxurious, powerful saloons and more recently big GT cars.
To maintain that air of exclusivity, I think, you need to have fewer products that are second to none and that play to your strengths... that being said it could be argued that Mercedes have successfully become all things to all people with their range of vehicles?
Either way, its not very nice looking to my eyes. If I were looking for that type of vehicle I think I would go for a RR Vogue - as this is their area of expertise
To maintain that air of exclusivity, I think, you need to have fewer products that are second to none and that play to your strengths... that being said it could be argued that Mercedes have successfully become all things to all people with their range of vehicles?
Either way, its not very nice looking to my eyes. If I were looking for that type of vehicle I think I would go for a RR Vogue - as this is their area of expertise
Turbobanana said:
Yikes!
0-62 in 4.1 seconds, 187mph: with the centre of gravity up there ^ somewhere.
True but these modern SUVs are so much wider and lower than traditional 4x4s that it isn't the issue that you might initially think. By the time this thing is going over 100mph and lowered right down, it's main body of mass isn't going to be that much higher than a big saloon. 0-62 in 4.1 seconds, 187mph: with the centre of gravity up there ^ somewhere.
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