Bentley has announced details of the new Bentayga – the definitive luxury SUV, and the first car launched under Bentley’s Beyond100 business plan. With more than 20,000 Bentaygas handcrafted since the car’s launch – more than any of its competitors – the new Bentayga is set to build on an incredible success story to date. Designed, engineered and handcrafted in Crewe, England, the extraordinary new Bentayga builds further on the outstanding success of its predecessor.
Key to the new Bentayga is its strikingly dynamic look, which draws inspiration from the marque’s new design language, introduced by the third-generation Continental GT and all-new Flying Spur. Together, the three cars form a new family that are more visually connected than ever before. The bold styling offers an imposing road presence, with every panel at the front of the car redesigned for a cleaner, modern look.
A New Exterior Design
The exterior design of the new Bentayga has been completely refreshed to create an even more stylish and purposeful car, showcasing Bentley’s new design language. Every panel at the front and rear of the car has been altered to give it a cleaner and more modern look – but with no change to the car’s coefficients of drag or lift.
A number of the intricate design details draw inspiration from the latest members of the Bentley family, including the third-generation Continental GT and the new Flying Spur limousine.
Key to these is the new matrix grille. Larger and more upright than before, it allows the Bentayga’s elegant bonnet to sweep down to the very edge of the chrome work. This gives the car a more dominant, upright profile and pushes the new LED matrix headlamps further apart, raising them 30 mm higher.
New elliptical headlamps are seen for the first time on a Bentley. They include the marque’s now-signature cut crystal design, which makes them appear to sparkle even when not lit. They now also illuminate with a contemporary wake-up sequence.
In profile, the muscularity of the design is clearly visible. A new, longer vent is positioned above the sculpted power line on the side of the front wing, while the lower door mouldings are also completely new, alongside discreet V8 badging.
A striking new 22-inch wheel design is available in two finishes, expanding the number of available wheel designs to five – all of which are unique to Bentley. The dynamic stance of the car has been improved by adjusting the lateral position of the wheels in the arches, reducing the horizontal space between surface of the wheel and the edge of the arch at all four corners.
Perhaps the most dramatic design changes have been reserved for the rear of the car, where the new Bentayga is radically different from its predecessor. In line with the Continental GT, it features elliptical tail lamps for the first time. The lattice pattern offers a unique jewellery-like appearance when illuminated, with a deep, three-dimensional glow. The lights also offer an animated ‘welcome’ feature with a sweeping direction indicator.
The lights feature within an all-new, full-width tailgate, resulting in a cleaner, more contemporary look. The licence plate has moved down into the bumper, allowing for prominent Bentley lettering above. Larger, oval-shaped split sport tailpipes echo the design of the rear lamps, while a new, longer roof spoiler gives new Bentayga a visually longer, more elegant profile and makes the whole car look more athletic.
Two new colours are also added to the already extensive Bentayga palette – Viridian, a dark shade of metallic green based on the colour of the EXP 10 Speed 6 concept car, and Patina – a luxury-focused mid-tone off-white.
The dynamic new looks are further accentuated with a breadth of individualisation possibilities, including the contemporary urban appeal of the Blackline Specification that replaces all exterior chrome with black versions.
A Unique Cabin Reimagined
The Bentayga’s fine handcrafted cabin has been reimagined for the new model. Already universally acclaimed as the benchmark for luxury SUV interiors, new Bentayga now contains a modernised, unparalleled combination of luxury materials and exquisite, intricate craftsmanship.
Bentley designers have created an even more relaxing environment for passengers, wherever they travel. Among the major changes to Bentayga’s more contemporary interior are new door trims and steering wheel, plus a redesigned centre fascia and digital instrumentation cluster. These are complemented by new seats that further improve on the industry-recognised benchmark for seat comfort.
A new centre fascia houses the latest-generation infotainment screen, enhancing the visual appeal and practicality of the class-leading Bentayga and sat within the famed Bentley ‘wings’ design ethos across the dashboard.
The central pair of traditional ‘bullseye’ centre vents have been replaced by a sculptured single vent with a flowing chrome bezel, that sits above the main infotainment screen and integrates the Breitling clock into its form. A long pocket along the side of the centre console carries smaller items, such as a mobile phone, while a wireless inductive phone charger with signal booster is situated directly in front of the gear lever.
Three versatile seating configurations are available in new Bentayga. Apart from the standard five-seat, an optional four-seat layout features two individual rear seats separated by a centre console. A three-row, seven-seat configuration offers the ultimate in practicality and flexibility.
The five-seat Bentayga benefits from an all-new seat frame, which doubles the travel of the rear-seat recline angle. All the seats now have a more sculpted shape, especially around the shoulder area. New foam and cover designs are standard, while Contrast Stitching and Hand Cross Stitching deliver extra design detail. Seat micro piping is also available for the first time on Bentayga. The five-seat configuration now also has the option of rear-seat ventilation, previously available only on the four-seat cabin.
The four-seat Bentayga benefits from a 30 mm increase in knee room in the upright seated position, with an improvement of almost 100 mm in the reclined position, helping to make luxury travel even more comfortable.
A new quilting design is included in Mulliner Driving Specification cars, while customers can choose from eight sustainably-sourced veneers including two straight grained options new to Bentayga – Koa and Crown Cut Walnut.
Unique to new Bentayga, a stunning, dark tint diamond brushed aluminium finish trim is available as an option in a Bentley for the first time. Evoking the Bentley matrix grille design, this exquisite finish is produced via an intricate process of brushing the aluminium precisely, from multiple directions, to achieve a contemporary three-dimensional effect.
Cutting-edge Infotainment
Setting new standards in the sector for customer technology interfaces, the new Bentayga introduces a new, cutting-edge infotainment system. A bigger and brighter, high-resolution 10.9-inch touchscreen, with an anti-reflection and anti-glare coating and much improved touch functionality, now spans the entire width of the centre fascia for a more contemporary look.
Content in the primary window can be selected either via hard keys beneath the screen, or from the main menu screen. A customisable dashboard can also be set up to show three favourites, such as phone, navigation or media.
The advanced navigation system features free text, context-specific search entry, including an address or point of interest. Navigation is improved with a three-dimensional building display, satellite maps, content in the driver’s next generation Head-Up Display and several other useful features. The Head-Up Display can now project traffic information, street and names and distance to destination too.
As well as the usual array of media sources, wireless Apple CarPlay is now standard in the new Bentayga (in addition to the previous standard wired system), along with Android Auto for the first time in a Bentley. With a corresponding phone plugged in to one of the car’s USB-C sockets, the central infotainment screen mirrors the smartphone display.
The new Bentayga now has a fully digital driver’s information panel similar to the Continental GT and new Flying Spur. The display brings a contemporary look to the cockpit, can be customised to the driver’s requirements and features real-time lighting effects with elegant animations.
The high-resolution screen can be viewed in either Classic or Expanded format. In Classic, the display shows the traditional two-dial design of speedometer and tachometer. In Expanded, the right dial is replaced with an area for maps and media information.
The latest release of the My Bentley in-car and remote connected car services are available through the New Bentayga. In-car services are now being delivered through an embedded SIM, as with the latest Continental GT, meaning online services no longer require a data connection from a customer’s mobile device.
Essential features including real time traffic information and over-the-air map updates will be available to all customers in Bentley connected car markets. New connected features such as online music, green traffic light prediction, and local hazard information will become available depending on market.
Remote services - subject to regional availability - are accessible through the My Bentley app and are further improved, including the technology levels and range of features our customers now come to expect – from ‘find my car’ and ‘lock my car’, through to car status and statistics – including integration with other functions such as the park heater where fitted.
Luxuriously Equipped
New Bentayga is characterised by the introduction of a wealth of new, innovative and technologically advanced features that take the onboard experience to a higher level.
Two levels of audio system are offered in new Bentayga. The Bentley Signature Audio is now fitted as standard, offering exceptional quality by delivering 590 W of power through 12 speakers. The optional Naim for Bentley system delivers 1,780 W of power via no less than 20 speakers including active bass speakers under both front seats, with super-tweeters located in each A and B-pillar for higher frequencies. Unmatched in the automotive sector, Naim for Bentley audio also offers eight listening modes, ranging from Digital Media to Classic. The Naim for Bentley speaker grilles are redesigned and now include an illuminated Naim badge.
Onboard air ionisers emit negatively charged particles from the central air conditioning vents, enhancing cabin air purity and customer wellness. These create a static charge around pollutants such as dust or allergens in the air, which in turn cause them to stick to the nearest surface. The result is to remove such contaminants from the air that the customer breathes.
Rear seat passengers in the new Bentayga enjoy a technology upgrade with a new, larger Touch Screen Remote control tablet, similar to that introduced in the all-new Flying Spur. The five-inch display shows more contemporary graphics and has extra processing power through an onboard quad-core processor and 1 GB of RAM. The unit can control a range of functions, from rear seat heating and massage, to the media system and navigation, to mood lighting and window blinds.
The new Bentayga has a full suite of driver assistance systems and the very latest headlamp technology. This includes three automatic modes for low beam and a matrix system, which allows the customer to drive continuously on high beam without blinding other road users.
Each matrix headlamp contains 82 powerful LEDs to improve functionality and road safety. They ingeniously allow the pool of light to be continuously shaped by automatically switching off certain LEDs to ‘box out’ other road users.
The three adaptive headlamp settings include Town mode, which operates below 30 mph and projects a short but wide beam, making it perfect for urban areas. Country mode is for travel between 30 and 60 mph and lifts the beam to a narrower field of light. Motorway mode further lifts the beam and intensifies the light to improve visibility.
Visibility and convenience are further aided by new wet arm windscreen wipers, which include an array of 22 heated washer jets in each arm. The system means no distracting spray and dramatically improves the cleaning of the glass.
New Bentayga continues to offer all the key features that made the original model such a hit, ranging from the practicality of a hands-free powered tailgate and refrigerated bottle cooler, to the safety-focused City Specification Pack and rear view camera.
Performance & Efficiency
The new Bentayga is powered by Bentley’s proven 4.0-litre, 32-valve dual twin-scroll turbocharged V8 petrol engine, which combines immense power with impressive fuel economy. Mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox, the V8 offers supercar performance, developing 542 bhp and 770 Nm of torque, resulting in a top speed of 290 km/h and 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds.
The class-leading performance of the new Bentayga V8 is complemented by a range of 397 miles (639 km), with CO2 emissions of 302 g/km. This refined efficiency (21.2 mpg / 13.3 l/100 km combined) is partly due to the ability of the engine to de-activate four of its eight cylinders in suitable conditions, without compromising the drive.
Bentley Dynamic Ride – the world’s first electric active roll control technology – has been further enhanced in new Bentayga by a 20 mm track increase at the rear, reducing steering effort and improving response linearity. Bentley Dynamic Ride instantly counteracts lateral rolling forces when cornering and ensures maximum tyre contact to deliver class-leading cabin stability, comfort and handling.
The new Bentayga offers the widest range of on and off-road drive settings of any SUV courtesy of Bentley’s Drive Dynamics Mode and the optional All-Terrain Specification. Up to eight modes - four on and four off-road - are available, allowing drivers to select the perfect dynamic set-up for any surface or road condition at the turn of a dial.
Later, new Bentayga will be offered as an efficient Hybrid, the luxury sector’s first true plug-in hybrid. Benefiting from its introduction in the previous generation model, the Hybrid will be Bentley’s most efficient model ever and is the company’s first step towards electrification.
There will also be a performance-focused Speed model, with even more purposeful styling. The Speed is the pinnacle of the Bentayga range and will be powered by Bentley’s renowned 6.0-litre W12 TSI engine.
Source: Bentley