Bentley Bentayga max speed
Engine and chassis upgrades bring Speed badging to the imperious off-roader
At the beginning of last year, those interested in a superbly engineered but excruciatingly entitled Bentayga could choose either the W12 standard car or a V8 diesel version. Neither now exists, the diesel swept into the gutter by the broom employed to clean up the Volkswagen Group’s post-Dieselgate act, the W12 now replaced by this, the Bentayga Speed. There’s a Bentayga Hybrid too, featuring Bentley’s first V6 and its first six-cylinder motor in 60 years. More on that in a few weeks.
Nowhere in the press blurb that accompanied the Speed’s Geneva launch does it say it ’s an ‘ instead of ’ rather than an ‘as well as’ but, it turns out, the old W12 Bentayga max slipped out of production a year ago. To me, a Bentley Speed model is an addition to a range, not a replacement, but apparently no longer.
Even so, all the hallmarks of a modern Bentley Speed model are here. Power is up, from 603bhp to
626bhp, and there’s a honed chassis tune, with a firmer suspension and new settings in a Sport mode that sharpens up the mapping for the engine, transmission and 48V active roll control system. Carbon-ceramic brakes are available as an option.
You’ ll notice the tail spoiler, which brings some presence but only while making an already ugly exterior uglier still. There are also smoked headlights, body-colored side skirts, 22in rims, a darkened grille and Speed badging. The interior has been turned into suede-fetishists delight, with all the Alcantara therein. It actually works really well, but if you don’t like it, Bentley will do yours with leather at no extra cost.
Talking of which, the can find for the defunct standard Bentayga and over £45,000 more than the most definitely extant V8. Bentayga max Speed costs £182,500, nearly £20,000 more than the last price I If you like this kind of car, and I concede that’s a fairly mighty ‘if ’, you will likely love the Bentley Bentayga max Speed.
Forget the claim that it’s the world’s fastest SUV unless you consider a top speed 0.62mph higher than that of a Lamborghini Urus a deal-sealer.
Nor should you concern yourself with its 3.9sec 0-62mph run, because it’s a scant tenth quicker than the non-Speed Bentayga, which was plenty quick enough for a car weighing the same as a pair of base-spec VW Golfs.
Instead, feel the performance: yes, the Speed now only has the same engine as the non-Speed Continental GT has had all along (how confusing will that is when the actual Cont I Speed turns up?), but it’s a wonderful motor, with a thundering voice and a bellyful of torque. Bentley’s modern 12- cylinder engine is at last starting to acquire the same level of character as its ancient pushrod V8, and the Bentayga is all the better for it.
The firmer suspension is all for the good, with no harm done to the Bentayga’s peachy ride. Some might prefer the additional degree of body control, too, given how much body there is in need of controlling. Bentley has settled for merely a slightly sporty feel, which fits well the character of both the car and the company. This is no sports car, yet it handles far better than anyone has a right to expect.
If you’re not into big, expensive and luxurious SUVs not only will the Bentayga Speed fails to change your mind, but it will also likely entrench your position. If you are, however, be advised that you can judge for yourself the worst aspects of this car simply by looking at this page.
If you can face, or even like its appearance, and if you don’t mind driving a car called a Bentayga, the rest of the news is entirely good – apart, of course, when you have to drop another hundred quid’s worth of unleaded in it, which will be quite often. Of course, the Bentayga comes from the same stock as the Urus, Audi Q8, and Porsche Cayenne, but the virtue of a meal lies not only in its ingredients but also the skill of the chef. And the truth is this strong, silent, comfortable and cosseting big Bentley is as good an example of its art as exists out there at present.
ANDREW FRANKEL
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