New Bentley SUV to receive a V12 engine, will be world’s most luxurious 4x4
By Andrew, 10 Oct, 2011. 0 Comments
Bentley Continental GT Sketch
It’s not a secret anymore that Volkswagen Group is preparing a Bentley SUV but what we didn’t know is that the firm wants the car to become the world’s most luxurious 4x4 powered by a V12 engine. Currently, the only rival to the new Bentley SUV will be the Eterniti Hemera which is based on the Porsche Cayenne Turbo and powered by a V8 engine. “We will be first to use a 12-cylinder petrol engine in a luxury SUV. I like this idea; it makes clear whose car is the boss,” said Bentley CEO Wolfgang Dürheimer.
According to Autocar, the new Bentley SUV will be powered by a next-generation version of today’s W12 engine used by the Continental GT and GTC models. Same Durheimer said that he likes the packaging advantage of the W12 engine compared with a V12. Moreover, the SUV’s engine bay will be designed in order to accept a vee engine as well, because the Bentley SUV is also expected to receive a V12 TDI engine a few years after launch. And yes, we are talking about a next-generation version of Audi’s 6.0-liter V12 TDI engine used by the Audi Q7 SUV. In order to get things moving, Bentley recruited last month a new chief engineer from Porsche, Rolf Frech, to replace Ulrich Eichhorn. Regarding the launch of the SUV, expect it in 2015.
“The production date will be dictated by the cyclicity of models,” he said. “The Mulsanne came in 2010, then the Continental no more than a year later. The lifespan of a model is usually six to eight years, so the new model will be valuable when we are expecting a lull. The downswing is the time to introduce this SUV.” What is more interesting is that 99% of the people who own a Bentley also own an SUV, which means that the vehicle will definitely be a success.
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