New Bentley breaks cover

Bentley releases first official picture of its much-anticipated luxury SUV.

Bentley’s teaser image only shows the front end of the SUV which the car marker claims will be the “most luxurious and powerful SUV on the market”.

The radical departure for Bentley is due to hit showrooms in 2015 and sales of 3,000 a year are predicted.

There’s no word on the name of the SUV, though it is expected to feature Bentley’s trusty 6.0-litre W12 engine with a plug-in hybrid to follow in 2016.

The price tag could be anything from £140,000 to £250,000 and Dr Wolfgang Schreiber, Chairman and Chief Executive at Bentley Motors, reckons: “It will create a completely new segment in the SUV market.”

The SUV, which will be built in Crewe and forms part of Bentley’s £800 million investment in new model and facilities development in the next three years.

Bentley delivered more cars than ever before in 2013 – 10,120 cars – a global growth of 19% over the 2012 figure of 8,510 cars.   The US remains Bentley’s largest market, with 31% of cars sold, followed by China (22%), Europe (15%) and the Middle East (12%).