Bentley's bold new Bentayga

Yochanaan Coetzee - With the current economic crunch being felt in all sectors, local motorheads have had to lower their expectations when it came to spotting exotic high-end vehicles doing the rounds in real life.

Fortunately, it seems the sun continues to shine on some of us, as Republikein recently spotted a Bentley Bentayga powering through town and, as always, when seeing one of those inspirational automobiles, it helps one believe that better days will indeed come.

Starting from N$4 million, it's not only the priciest SUV on our roads, it is in fact the priciest anywhere at present.

Although much has been said about Bentley's first entrant into the exceedingly popular sport utility realm, one can't help but concede that the crew at Crewe have crafted one classy machine.

Engineered and handcrafted over more than 130 hours in Bentley's facility at Crewe in the United Kingdom, the Bentayga takes the Bentley's promise of posh, high-powered refinement and ups the capability to allow it to dominate the outdoors too.

Fitted with an all-new twin-turbocharged 6.0-litre W12 engine, the Bentayga comes well-endowed with 447 kW and 900 Nm, propelling the Bentayga to 100 km/h in 4.1 seconds and on to a speed of 301 km/h.

Watching online performance tests and having been properly dusted by “trusted” local business magnate and clear car lover's bling mobile on more than one occasion, makes this kind of performance from these hulking machines absolutely plausible and impressive.

Australian motoring publication AutoAdvice also recently showed it performed better than a Lotus Exige S in a high-performance acceleration and braking test, managing to accelerate to 160 km/h and coming to a complete stop, just over a second faster than the lightweight sports car.



Bling bushwhacker

The Bentayga is the first Bentley to benefit from it's new dynamic ride technology, which steadies this beast using active roll-control technology.

“Inherent in larger vehicles with a higher centre of gravity, this system counteracts lateral rolling forces when cornering,” Bentley's boffins have been quoted as saying.

Just as those who can afford these types of vehicles may probably be used to having a team to tackle life's nitty-gritties, so too does the Bentayga employ an electrically-powered steering system which improves feedback, while providing isolation from steering kick-back to the driver on either tarmac or gravel tracks.

Thanks to a variable rack ratio, maneuvering at low speeds in tight urban spaces is easy and light, while stable and supple at higher speeds.

Its standard multi-mode air suspension has four driving modes to choose from, ranging from a low drag “Low” to the the off-road obstacle-clearing “High 2”.



Leather interior

According to Bentley, the Bentayga boasts one of the world's finest ­automotive cabins, with luxurious helpings of fine metal, wood and leather meticulously lavished through­out.

Lavish was obviously one of the major terms in the design brief. Walnut veneer decks the inlays and everything else is wrapped in the “larniest” leather they could get their hands on. While the rear is reserved for the one handling the payments, the chauffeur or anyone lucky enough to occupy his seat, will thoroughly feel like they too, have arrived.