Hotter Bentley Bentayga Speed flagship model announced

Bentley will crown its Bentayga range with a flagship Speed version later this year, with an aim to deliver the ultimate package balancing performance and luxury in an SUV.

The hotter Bentayga – dubbed the Bentayga Speed – is set to be unveiled in the first half of this year and will go on sale soon after. The Bentayga Speed will adopt the carmaker’s twin-turbocharged 6.0-litre W12 petrol engine. A combination of hardware and software upgrades shall boost power figures from the existing 608hp to a higher 659hp.

Our sister publication, Autocar UK, understands that this will translate to a top speed of 306kph and a sub-four-second 0-100kph sprint time. This will be due to the aforementioned power boost as well as expected revisions to the car’s 8-speed automatic gearbox. To compare, the 640hp Lamborghini Urus – which shares much of its underpinnings with the Bentayga – tops out at 304kph and is capable of 0-100kph in 3.6sec.

However, the Speed won’t just be focusing on beating its Italian sibling on the straights. There will be revisions to the standard Bentayga’s chassis to give the SUV more of a performance character without having a negative impact on comfort levels. There won’t be any mass reduction – the Speed is likely to have a kerb weight nearly identical to the existing W12’s 2.44 tonnes.

Bentley plans to put the Speed as the pinnacle of the Bentayga range in every sense. As such, one can expect interior trim and upholstery enhancements bespoke to the Speed, while featuring subtle exterior design upgrades in line with the previous Continental GT Speed.

The long-awaited Bentayga plug-in hybrid variant will go on sale in international markets after the launch of the Speed. The production model of the hybrid was unveiled at the 2018 Geneva motor show, but delays caused by WLTP tests have pushed the launch forward a year later than expected. The Bentayga Hybrid uses the same electric motor mated to a 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 petrol engine as seen in the Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid.

While Bentley has the Bentayga V8 and W12 currently on sale in India for Rs 3.78 crore and Rs 4.02 crore respectively, there has been no word about when and if the Bentayga Speed will be available in Indian market.