Spy Photos: New Bentley SUV?

Bentley goes off the road

Is this Cayenne test mule the first hint to an SUV from the traditional British make Bentley? We guess so! Rumours have suggested for a long time that the car will be coming and German owner Volkswagen is certainly keen on broadening the range of Bentley.

An SUV would fit perfectly to the image of the British make. On top, it would make perfect sense to let Porsche do the basic engineering as the Stuttgart firm was heavily involved in developing VW’s own Touareg SUV – and, of course, their own Cayenne.

Besides these two plus Audi’s new Q7, a Bentley SUV would be the fourth model to be built around the same platform and technique – and there might even be a Lamborghini derivative, though latest information from Sant’ Agata say that the Lambo 4x4 is still some years away.

While underpinnings wouldn’t differ much from those used for the three existing SUVs, power is likely to come from both, the Arnage’s 6.75-litre V8 with 475 bhp and the Continental GT’s 6-litre W12 TwinTurbo developing 560 bhp.