Launched in 2015, the Bentley Bentayga presented itself as the fastest SUV in the world — already dethroned by the Lamborghini Urus — , capable of reaching a maximum speed of 301 km/h , courtesy of its 6.0-litre twin turbo W12, capable of 608 hp and 900 Nm of torque. A year later, a Diesel option emerged; a powerful V8 with 4.0 liters and 435 hp and identical 900 Nm, with consumption more inviting than the W12.
new but familiar V8
The Bentley Bentayga now gets a new V8 petrol engine, which is positioned practically in the middle of the two existing ones. It has 4.0 liters of capacity, two turbos, and delivers 550 hp and 770 Nm — pretty respectable numbers, and it's mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission.
If the engine and the amounts charged by it seem familiar, it's because they coincide exactly with those presented by the Porsche Cayenne and Panamera Turbo — they're exactly the same engine.
The new V8 engine is capable of launching the Bentayga up to 100 km/h in just 4.5 seconds and reaching a top speed of 290 km/h — practically in the middle of 4.1 seconds and 301 km/h and 4.8 seconds and 270 km/h of the W12 and V8 Diesel, respectively. Respect numbers considering the 2,395 kg it weighs (five places) — and it's the lightest Bentayga. The W12 weighs 2440 kg and the Diesel around 2511 kg, also for the five-seater version.
The V8 also stands out for allowing to disable half of the cylinders, under certain circumstances, in order to save fuel. Even so, considering the engine numbers, and the weight of the Bentayga, the combined consumptions announced, generally optimistic, are not “famous”: 11.4 l/100km and emissions of 260 g/km of CO2.
More options
For the rest, the V8 doesn't stand out much from the more powerful W12. The brake calipers are in red, it gets 22″ wheels of new design, different exhausts and a grille with different filling. The Bentley Bentayga V8 can also, as an option, receive carbon-ceramic discs — currently, the largest in the world, with 17.3″ in diameter or 44 cm(!).
Inside, there is a new leather and wood steering wheel, as well as a new finish for the doors, center console and instrument panel in shiny carbon fiber. A new skin tone also appears — Cricket ball, or similar to brown. Options that will eventually be extended to the rest of the range.
The Bentley Bentayga does not exhaust the addition of new engines in the V8. The next one should already be known at the next Geneva Motor Show and promises to be the “greenest”. It is a plug-in hybrid engine, the same one that powers the Porsche Panamera E-Hybrid. In other words, a 2.9 liter V6, which, in conjunction with the electric motor, is capable of delivering 462 hp and allows, in the Panamera, an electric autonomy of up to 50 km.
