Bentley Bentayga gets a new look

BENTLEY WAS first to the ultra-luxury SUV party and had this part of the market to itself for several years. But now the field is getting crowded, with the Rolls-Royce Cullinan and Lamborghini Urus, and the Aston Martin DBX and Mercedes-Maybach GLS600 about to launch. To underscore its brand identity in that sea of six-figure SUVs, the new Bentayga gets a broader grille, and “cut glass” elliptical LED headlights are meant to provide a stylistic link to the Flying Spur and the Continental. And the new wraparound liftgate, with its oval taillights acknowledges that the original car’s rear end was short.

Mechanical changes are limited. A 20mm increase in the rear track is the highlight of what’s new part, and beyond a few software tweaks, every other dynamic component is carried over. Bentley will offer the new Bentayga in a twin-turbo V8 version that will be available from launch, the other with the mighty W12 that will follow later in the Speed version. Bentley has also confirmed there will be another plug-in hybrid version.