Long-wheelbase Bentayga unveiled

BENTLEY is offering Bentayga customers even more rear-seat comfort with an extended wheelbase (EWB) flagship that joins the ultra-luxury brand’s portfolio in the final quarter of this year.

Australian pricing will be confirmed closer to the model’s on-sale date later this year.

“Order intake for the Bentayga EWB will be available in Australia and New Zealand in late 2022 with vehicles expected in 2023,” Bentley Australia and New Zealand brand manager David Simpson told GoAuto.

Bentley says it expects EWB variants to account for up to 45 per cent of all Bentayga sales globally.

With 180mm of additional space – all of it focused on the second row – this new version of the best-selling Bentley will also feature automatic climate control, seat ventilation and heating, a five-setting massage function and 22-way adjustment for the model’s Airline Seat rear pews.

The rear seats also feature a postural adjustment function that can provide up to 177 changes every three hours to prevent passenger discomfort over longer journeys.

Offered purely with 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 power – enough for a 0-100km/h time of 4.6 seconds and top speed of 290km/h – the Bentayga EWB also features rear-wheel steering integration and the British marque’s Diamond Illumination LED cabin lighting technology.

Adding a longer rear door, underfloor, roof and quarter panels means an EWB Bentayga tips the scales at 2514kg (tare).

Debuting as something of an indirect replacement for the discontinued Mulsanne limousine, the Bentayga EWB is the result of a nine-figure investment from the British marque and measures an imposing 5322mm in overall length.

The stretched variant is available with four-, five- and, as standard, 4+1 seating configurations, as well as electrically operated doors for that true chauffer experience. Luggage capacity ranges from 380 to 484 litres – or 100 litres less than Toyota’s RAV4 – depending on the seating configuration selected.

The seven-seat option will remain available on regular Bentayga variants.

Initially, the Bentayga EWB will be offered in two variants, the Azure offering 22-inch 10-spoke alloys, bright lower grille, model-specific upholstery embroidery and badging, quilted seats, cabin mood lighting and a heated steering wheel, while the First Edition adds Diamond Illumination, Naim premium audio and metal veneers.

“The Bentayga Extended Wheelbase is our first car truly dedicated to the onboard wellness of its occupants,” said Bentley CEO and chairman Adrian Hallmark.

“Every Bentley gets you to your destination feeling more relaxed than when you started your journey, and yet with the Extended Wheelbase we've been able to go even further thanks to the adoption of world-first wellness technology embedded within our unrivalled interior cabin design.

“In combination with the incredible skills of the craftspeople at our carbon-neutral factory in Crewe, these advances make the Bentayga Extended Wheelbase the ultimate luxury SUV to drive or be driven in.”

Since its introduction in 2015, the Bentayga has become the brand’s best-selling model, accounting for a third of all Bentley sales.

Locally, the Bentayga has amassed 28 year-to-date sales, placing it ahead of the same-segment Aston Martin DBX (17), Land Rover Range Rover (13) and Rolls-Royce Cullinan (9), but behind the Lamborghini Urus (32), Mercedes-Benz G-Class (69), Audi Q8 (74) and Lexus LX (81).

The Bentayga range is priced from $378,600 plus on-road costs and options, rising to $514,200 + ORC for the Speed.