Bentley Bentayga Mulliner revealed
The race to the top for luxury SUVs is heating up – in the showrooms of course rather than actually up a mountain. Reaching new heights for the world’s most sought-after new vehicles these days means more luxury, more power… and somewhere to keep the champagne chilled.
Hitting its zenith just in time to storm the Geneva Motor Show on March 7th is the Bentley Bentayga in a bespoke new form crafted by Mulliner, and billed as ”the most exquisitely appointed luxury SUV ever created.”
The Geneva show car is a one-off but the intention is to make it available in small numbers, with orders now being taken. There’s no price but then with the bespoke nature of each car that is likely to vary hugely – showing that the only thing people love more about their luxury SUVs is the ability to personalise them.
The Geneva car is certainly personalised, with all of the Bentayga’s best options fitted and plenty of craftsmanship from Bentley’s in-house bespoking division lavished upon it, inside and out.
This is the first Bentayga we have seen with two-tone paintwork, the bonnet, roof and pillars finished in a lighter shade to break up the bulk and, says Bentley, make the cabin appear “as if floating”. The DuoTone paint will be an option on all Bentaygas from April. Chrome finish skid plates and new seven-spoke 22-inch wheels, with floating wheel centres, complete what is a Bentayga that’s sure to stand out.
The interior, always a quilted-leather delight in a Bentley, displays different colourways that echo the two-tone exterior: dark quilted leather up front, light leather in the back, all with lots of Mulliner embroidery and contrasting stitching. Marquetry skills are shown off by an inlay of the Monte Rosa mountain on the dashboard. The veneer is burr walnut and exclusive to the Mulliner version. There’s customisable mood lighting and what Bentley says is the class’s most powerful audio system, a 1950-watt Naim.
And, yes, there is somewhere to keep the bubbly cold. The grandly named Mulliner Bottle Cooler has an illuminated chilling cabinet and includes crystal flutes all built in to the rear centre console. If all that makes you peckish then in the boot there’s a Linley hamper.
The flagship Bentley doesn’t have any more power than standard but then with 600bhp already – for a top speed of 187mph and 0-62mph in 4.1 seconds – the “world’s fastest SUV” perhaps doesn’t need anymore.
The pinnacle? Well it’s certainly right up there, but then with base camp established by the ever-upwardly-mobile Range Rover and Rolls-Royce’s project Cullinan waiting in the wings, the luxury SUV hasn’t perhaps reached the top yet…
Bentley
bentayga
Geneva 2017
