Bentley Bentayga 2016 News

Luxury brands vie for attention with opulence and drop-tops.

Bentley has just confirmed a 3.5-tonne tow capacity for its upcoming Bentayga with a suitable towball load rating for the super-luxury SUV.It is also fitting a special rear-view camera and electrically operated tow hitch to make it easier to attach a back-end loading job to the $400,000-plus luxury truck."The tow capacity is 3.5 tonnes," the engineering director at Bentley, Rolf Frech, reveals to CarsGuide.Bentley will be taking the SUV to Iceland next year to drive up a glacier"I do not have the exact ball weighting, but it will be sufficient."Frech says development of the Bentayga has included all possible SUV requirements, including the 'Big Red' sand dune in the Dubai desert and luxury towing."Bentley has to be authentic. Do we assume our customers will go there? Of course not. But the success story of SUVs around the world also has to do with the escape potential."Bentley's CEO, Wolfgang Durheimer, confirms the Bentayga can conquer 'Big Red', but says his objective was the much tougher downwind side of the dune than the sloping upwind edge tackled by most four-wheel drives. And he reveals Bentley will be taking the SUV to Iceland next year to drive up a glacier.On the towing capacity, the two men say the Bentayga can handle anything and the luxury approach means a hands-off hitch. Instead of lifting or winching, the driver uses the rear-view camera to line up the towball with the hitch and then presses a button to make the connection."We also have an air spring to help with connecting the tow hitch," Frech says.

The luxury brand aims to double annual sales with a high-riding rival for Rolls, Maserati and Lamborghini.Bentley is promising to rewrite the rules for high-end SUVs as it readies an ultra-luxury flagship for the road.Rolls-Royce is planning a similar super SUV, most likely based on its $645,000 Wraith coupe, and Lamborghini and Maserati both have SUV plans in the works. Bentley is several years ahead with its contender.A camouflaged prototype is turning test laps at the Nurburgring in readiness for a public unveiling next year and company chief Wolfgang Durheimer exclusively reveals to CarsGuide that it breaks new ground on the SUV front."I'm convinced we have a game-changer. We will create a new layer in the SUV segment, right at the very top," he says."We are now in the final test phase. That is including a challenging off-road phase." Durheimer is serving his second stint in the top job at Bentley. He originally gave the green light to the SUV program - when it was only an ugly concept called the EXP 9 F - and says it has progressed as he planned."In only my third day back I was able to drive the first prototype. The company has moved on, in a good direction," he says.The Bentley boss has also served time at Porsche and can see parallels with the impact of the original Cayenne, Porsche's first SUV, on his current company."It's a step change in two directions. A situation we have never been in before. We have never had an SUV before and there has never been an SUV like this before." He predicts SUV sales of about 3000 a year, which would more than double Bentley's annual results.This year alone the company has logged a 25 per cent increase in global deliveries."The best years for Bentley are yet to come. We are again on the road to setting a new record." He believes Bentley has an untapped market for its SUV among the existing owners of its luxury sedans, coupes, and convertibles."Most have at least one SUV in the garage already," he says. Durheimer will not be drawn on engines or specifications, but gives a solid hint on pricing."It will be below the ($662,858) Mulsanne. We already have a flagship but, in terms of the market sector, it will be the SUV flagship."

Expected to become the firm's most popular model, the SUV was previewed by the EXP 9 F concept car at the 2012 Geneva motor show. But the concept sparked controversy after its styling didn't 'click' with potential customers, so the Bentley designers revisited the model 's styling.The teaser image reveals a redesigned front bumper that integrates four headlights in signature Bentley fashion rather than the concept 's two. The overall profile also appears rounder than the concept 's with fewer sharp and visually challenging lines and more soft curves. Essentially, it looks more closely related to the Continental range than the Mulsanne.The SUV will ride on the Volkswagen Group 's new large car platform which will be shared with the next generation Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne, plus Lamborghini 's Urus SUV. Engine options will likely mirror those of the Continental initially, including the 4.0-litre twin turbo V8 and 6.0-litre twin-turbo W12, with hybrid and possibly diesel variants becoming available later in the model 's lifecycle.The new model will be built at Bentley 's Crewe facility in England. The factory is being upgraded to the tune of $1.45 billion over the next three years in preparation for the 3000 SUVs Bentley expect to build annually from 2016 onwards.