Bentley’s forthcoming SUV will be on sale by 2015.
The car will have serious off-road credentials, along with the option of a 12-cylinder petrol engine, company boss Wolfgang Durheimer has told What Car?.
The SUV is the third model that has been approved by Bentley's new boss. Durheimer also revealed that it will be built on existing VW Group architecture, rumoured to be the Porsche Cayenne, and that it will be made in Britain.
Other engineering sources also indicated that the car will need to have ‘lots of capability’ because Bentley customers expect it to possess serious off-road ability, rather than being just an on-road device.
As well as 12-cylinder power, the SUV is likely to be offered with the company’s new 4.0-litre V8 petrol engine, while both diesel and hybrid versions should also become available.
It’s unlikely to be cheap, however. Durheimer indicated that demand would be such that the company could make it premium priced. So, expect costs in line with the Continental GT at around £140,000.
