25/06/2016
MARBELLA, SPAIN -- At the launch of the 2017 Bentayga, Bentley execs repeatedly referred to their new 4x4 as "the world's first luxury SUV." That sort of marketing bluster will surely come as a shock to the rest of the automotive world, given that leather-lined high riders have been buoying industry profits for decades. It also ought to cause particular consternation within Bentley's parent company, Volkswagen AG, because it builds rather posh utilities including the Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne.
The Bentayga's positioning statement may be hyperbolic, but on some levels, it's also true. In an age where prices for new hypercars regularly eclipse one million dollars, it's long been all but impossible to spend even spend a quarter of that sum on an SUV.
The horror.
Well, after years of rumors, Bentley's first-ever SUV is finally here to save the world's plutocrats from the drudgery of driving a merely premium utility vehicle, and it won't be the last of its kind. In fact, you're going to see a lot of this type of thing over the next few years: Lamborghini, Maserati and Rolls-Royce have all pledged to build rivals, so consider the Bentayga to be the first quilted-leather bullet in what's sure to become full-fledged American Express Black Card warfare. Make no mistake: ultra-swish SUVs are poised to become the Next Big Thing.