Dubai: The first shipments of Bentley’s SUV, the Bentayga, will roll into the UAE showrooms (operated by Al Habtoor Motors) by late March or early April, according to the UK marque’s top regional official. The base model will alone come to just under Dh1 million. And for anyone looking to scale up on the on-board features, the pricing can add up to something quite substantial.
But the pricing will not be much of a deterrent for local and regional buyers given the kind of anticipation that had been building up for the super luxury carmaker’s first attempt at venturing into SUV territory. “It does create a brand new category within the industry and offering a range of features far more advanced than anything out there,” said Neil Wilford, Regional Manager — MEA at Bentley.
“From being a concept to actually getting into production has been achieved in quick enough time.”
On every count, the Bentayga stays true to the word “substantial”. A 6.0-litre W12 makes it possible to do the 1-100 km/h in a claimed 4.1 seconds, and looks the sort to not even break into a sweat in the process. Not for nothing does it lay claim to being the fastest SUV on Planet Earth.
Order book
That’s despite packing a quite substantial 3,250 kilograms that passes for its gross vehicle weight (and a kerb weight of 2,422 kilograms). The top speed comes to 301km/h, and comes via 600-hp at 5,000-6,000-rpm. (The torque’s 900-Nm at 1,350-rpm.) According to market sources, the Bentayga’s already built up quite a nice order book in the UAE. Wilford declined to get into the specifics of how many orders have been garnered so far.
In the first year of production, the Bentayga’s looking at an overall output of 3,500 plus units. (The Queen of England, incidentally, is to receive the first one.) It will help Bentley, owned by the Volkswagen Group, that any sort of contender in the super-luxury SUV space will emerge a year and more down the line. Rolls-Royce has confirmed an all-terrain vehicle development, but has not conformed a date. Aston Martin is also building one, while the Maserati Levante is scheduled for an introduction next year.
