Bentley Bentayga S
Sporty evolution
The roof spoiler is larger
© press-inform – the press office
With the S model, Bentley is providing the Bentayga V8 with a sportier variant with identical performance. The chassis tuning is definitely noticeable and the new exhaust system is less restrained than before.
The Bentley Bentayga has been around for a while. To be precise, a good six years. With a normal car you would slowly herald the end of your life. But in the luxury segment, the clocks tick differently and the life of an automobile lasts longer, especially since the British have only recently given their long-legged bestseller a model refresh and since the luxury SUV is the best-selling model of the VW subsidiary brand with a share of 40 percent , which set a sales record last year with 14,659 cars sold. Every good businessman knows that one should not rest on one’s laurels, especially in good times, but must create new incentives to buy. So the Bentley marketing strategists followed up with the Bentayga S.
If you open the bonnet, do you see an eight-cylinder engine? Eight cylinders? There we have the Bentayga V8, which will remain part of the model range. A look at the technical data reveals that nothing has changed in terms of performance. It doesn’t have to be, because the 405 KW / 550 hp and a maximum torque of 770 Newton meters are still more than enough with a weight of around 2.4 tons. However, the engineers have sharpened the agility of the luxury cruiser and used a similar trick that got the Continental GT Speed moving. Since the Bentayga S has installed two adjustment screws with the active roll stabilization and the air suspension, which the suspension technicians can turn. In addition, there is the stability program, the steering and the torque vectoring.
With these ingredients, the engineers recalibrate the sport driving mode. If you move the knob to “S”, the air suspension tightens by 15 percent and the steering becomes more direct. In order to balance the luxury SUV even more agilely around the corner, the system brakes the inside rear wheel slightly when steering into a curve and thus supports the front axle when changing direction. The plan is working. Even the current V8 Bentayga dances agilely around the corners. But the S version makes it act a little more light-footed without reaching the almost absurd radicalism of a Lamborghini Urus or a Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT. Nor does the British gentleman have to. The Bentayga S performs ambitious changes of direction confidently and relaxed, without causing wet palms and beads of sweat on the driver’s forehead. The more direct steering, which could be a touch more communicative, fits into this coherent overall picture.
The well-sounding eighth is a joy, which, thanks to the Akrapovic exhaust system with two powerful oval black tailpipes, is much more audible in sport mode without sounding too rowdy. However, the sound in the fine areas should cause some neighbors to frown. The engine hangs well on the gas, the eight-speed automatic sorts itself with a Butalo kickdown, while the engine allows itself a short breathing space, in order to then balance the noble cruiser with a sovereign conviction forward. It takes 4.5 seconds to reach 100 km/h from a standing start and with a top speed of 290 km/h you are not one of the losers even on German roads. So much verve is not given for free. The Bentayga S costs just under 230,000 euros (that’s around 21,200 euros more than the V8) and consumes 13 liters per 100 kilometers.
In addition to the mighty trumpets, the Bentayga S also differs visually from its equally strong brother with its 22 inch reels. To improve agility, the rear spoiler is slightly larger than its V8 brother. There are also black exterior mirror caps, applications in the same color around the car and dark-tinted headlights and taillights. In the interior, the athlete can be recognized by Alcantara fabric, color elements and S emblems. Otherwise everything has remained the same and is still sometimes reminiscent of the technology donor Audi Q7. The headrests of the seats still have to be adjusted by hand, but Bentley wasn’t always a bed of roses. The seating could also offer a little more lateral support. But we’ll have to wait for the next Bentayga for that. The drivers of the noble Brits with German technology do not encounter such small weaknesses anyway. They like to be driven.