Bentley offers new flagship model in luxury SUV market

Bentley Motors was the marque to define the luxury SUV market when it unveiled the Bentayga in 2015. The British brand is now pushing back the frontiers of the segment by offering the new Bentayga Extended Wheelbase.

Adrian Hallmark, chairman and CEO of Bentley Motors, said the Bentayga Extended Wheelbase is the first Bentley truly dedicated to the onboard wellness of its occupants.

"Every Bentley gets you to your destination feeling more relaxed than when you started your journey, and yet with the Extended Wheelbase we've been able to go even further thanks to the adoption of wellness technology embedded within our unrivaled interior cabin design. In combination with the incredible skills of the craftspeople at our carbon-neutral factory in Crewe, these advances make the Bentayga Extended Wheelbase the ultimate luxury SUV to drive or be driven in," he said.

The Bentayga Extended Wheelbase builds on the latest second-generation Bentayga, extending the wheelbase and rear cabin space by an extra 180 millimeters.

This increase results in the wheelbase of the car stretching from 2,995 mm to 3,175 mm, with an overall length of 5,322 mm.

The increased length is all in the rear door, thus creating an exceptionally luxurious rear cabin area, which also features the world's first auto climate and advanced postural adjustment rear seats.

Bentley said the new luxury flagship is the result of a nine-figure euros of investment to create a new model that provides the best rear-cabin experience since a Mulsanne, while retaining the Bentley hallmarks of performance, handcraftsmanship and personalization.

"Over the last seven years, the Bentayga has proved its credibility through genuine off-road capability, hybrid technology, record-breaking performance, and bespoke specifications. The Bentayga Extended Wheelbase once again redefines the zenith," the company said.

In the first nine months of 2022, Bentley achieved record sales year-to-date, increasing 3 percent to 11,316 cars. The best-selling Bentayga SUV claimed a 41 percent share of sales. The new Bentayga Extended Wheelbase has so far accounted for approximately 40 percent of Bentayga orders since its launch.

The new Extended Wheelbase features an Airline Seat specification, which is the most advanced seat ever fitted to a car, with 22 ways of adjustment, as well as the world's first auto climate sensing system and postural adjustment technology.

In Relax mode, the seat can recline to 40 degrees, and a footrest — beautifully trimmed in carpet and leather and surrounded with a chrome strip — will deploy from the front passenger seat back. In Business Mode, the seat moves into its most upright position to make working on the move more comfortable.

The auto climate seat technology senses the occupant's temperature and the seat's surface humidity and then determines whether to apply heat, ventilation or both simultaneously to keep the occupant at optimum thermal wellbeing.

The postural adjustment system automatically makes micro adjustments to the occupant's seating position and pressure points, by measuring pressure across the seat surface.

The system can apply 177 individual pressure changes across six fully independent pressure zones over a three-hour period, improving comfort and minimizing fatigue throughout a journey.

New features like Bentley Diamond Illumination demonstrate how technology combines with contemporary craftsmanship to deliver incredibly modern design in luxurious materials.

The optional Bentley Diamond Illumination uses LEDs that emit light through small perforations that measure 1 mm in diameter in the leather trim on the door panels. The intensity and color of the illumination through the trim can be controlled through the infotainment system and Touch Screen Remote.

The feature is linked with the mood lighting to ensure consistent color and intensity of light throughout the car. This dramatic feature can transform the interior feel and look of the cabin, especially at night.

The introduction of Electronic All Wheel Steering, a first for the Bentayga, ensures that there is no shortfall of dynamic ability despite the longer wheelbase. In fact, the turning circle is 7 percent less than a standard Bentayga, at just 11.8 meters. This also guarantees no compromise between high-speed confidence and low-speed convenience.

Bentley Dynamic Ride, the 48-volt active anti-roll control system introduced originally by Bentayga, is included as standard and provides the optimum balance between ultimate ride comfort, handling and body control.

In terms of the exterior, there are four major changes. They are the longer profile, a new front grille, a new 22-inch 10-spoke wheels, and a repositioned sunroof, maintaining the highly successful second-generation Bentayga aesthetic.

The Bentayga Extended Wheelbase is powered by Bentley's proven 4.0-liter, 32-valve dual twin-scroll turbocharged V8 petrol engine. Mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox, it generates 550 horsepower of output and 770 Newton meters of torque, resulting in a top speed of 290 kilometers per hour and 0-100 km/h acceleration in 4.6 seconds.

Bentley said more than 2,500 new parts have been introduced to produce the Bentayga Extended Wheelbase including significant Body-in-White changes and a complete new underfloor. This has led to new manufacturing processes, layout changes and infrastructure specific to the model.

With more than 50 pre-series vehicles, there were nearly 2,000 weeks of collective testing in the development of the new Bentayga Extended Wheelbase, the company said.

The global luxury SUV market continues to expand, with the sales forecast increasing towards the end of the decade across all regions.