Bentley’s secret SUV

Long before the Bentayga there was this: the ultra-rare Bentley Dominator

Did you think the Bentayga was Bentley’s first SUV? It wasn’t. Buried deep in the British marque’s family tree is another, very secretive SUV that was unleashed way back in 1996.

In fact, the world didn’t even know of its existence until two years after it was actually produced. UK magazine Autocar discovered the Bentley Dominator was a thing in 1998.

It’s probably the only reason Bentley is still around today. Even though the company only ever sold six Dominators . . . all to one man. If you’re thinking “Sultan of Brunei”, you’re right. Or maybe his slightly dodgy brother, Prince Jefri, depending on which story you believe.

Back in 1996 Bentley (and its parent company Vickers, which also owned Rolls-Royce) was struggling and the Sultan was the company’s single biggest customer. The story goes that the Sultan (or Jefri), not wanting two of his favourite marques to go under, shelled out around NZ$40 million for six bespoke Bentley SUVs.

The Dominator was built in total secrecy, based on a Range Rover platform, probably with a Range Rover engine and 4x4 system — although nobody really knows.

Bentley and Rolls-Royce were caught up in the chaotic bidding war between BMW and Volkswagen in1997. The six Dominators just sat quietly in the Sultan of Brunei’s massive car collection, which was said to feature somewhere between 3000-5000 vehicles.

However, one was spotted outside Brunei in 2011, being loaded on a plane. Rumours were that it was going to Bentley’s factory in Crewe, because the company was toying with the idea of building an SUV and wanted to see what it had done previously.

Given that Bentley showed the EXP 9 F SUV concept at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, and the production Bentayga launched in 2015, this adds up. What doesn’t add up is why the subsequent Rolls-Royce Cullinan looks like a direct descendant of the Dominator . . .