Bentley, the British manufacturer
of ultra-luxury cars favoured by the Queen of England, may add a fifth
model to its line-up after rolling out the world's priciest sport
utility vehicle in 2016.
"It needs to be a solid statement in terms of luxury and
performance" to safeguard Bentley's exclusive brand cachet, Mr Wolfgang
Duerheimer, head of the Volkswagen AG unit, said last week. "It needs
to be a performer."
The new Bentley would be part of a wider push by Volkswagen,
Europe's largest automaker, to expand in lucrative premium cars, with
brands including Audi, Porsche and Lamborghini.
Volkswagen gave Bentley final approval last year to build an SUV
that may cost about €180,000 (S$300,000), allowing the luxury brand to
expand beyond sedans and coupes.
The SUV coming in two years is critical to the automaker's goal to
almost double Bentley sales to 15,000 vehicles by 2018. It mimics the
strategy followed by Volkswagen's Porsche, which flanked its sports
cars with the Cayenne, now the brand's bestseller. Porsche added a
compact SUV called the Macan earlier this year. The Bentley SUV will
complement a line-up that comprises the Continental GT coupe and
convertible as well as Flying Spur and Mulsanne sedans.
A potential fifth model could be placed "in between" the Continental and the more expensive Mulsanne, Mr Duerheimer said.
Another option is a two-seater. "I didn't take a position yet, but
our designers are extremely busy right now preparing designs for
potential alternatives," he added. A decision will come after the SUV
is on the road, he said.
The SUV is based on a prototype that was presented at the Geneva
motor show in 2012. While the model has been modified since, the
concept car sported flourishes such as picnic hampers for pologround
tailgating, 23-inch wheels and gaping turbine-like air intakes.
The SUV's front end will be the biggest difference to the concept
car, Mr Duerheimer said. A version with a large 12-cylinder engine will
be available first and a hybrid version may be offered.
The new Bentley will compete with vehicles such as the Porsche
Cayenne Turbo S and top-of-the-line Range Rover from Tata Motors'
Jaguar Land Rover business in Britain.
Mr Duerheimer, 56, returned to Bentley as chairman and CEO last
month after heading development at Audi for less than a year. He
previously worked at Volkswagen's Bugatti and Porsche brands after
starting his career at BMW AG.
Bentley said it plans to spend more than £800 million (S$1.7
billion) developing the SUV and other models as well as upgrading its
headquarters in Crewe, England. The price estimation for the SUV stems
from past comments from company executives and would make it the
world's most expensive vehicle of that type.
