With a top speed of 175 mph, the Porsche Cayenne Turbo S is a sports-car-quick SUV.
Bentley intends to make that suffix stand for “Slow.”
According to Autocar, the Crewe company is developing its upcoming rig to peg its speedometer at – wait for it – 200.
That means design chief Luc Donckerwolke and his team have been restyling the 2012 EXP 9 F concept. “Bentley has lowered the roofline, smoothed off the rear-end styling to create a more slippery shape and paid strong attention to the underbody aerodynamics.”
As you can imagine, the vehicle will have to be impeccably behaved on the highway, but able to go off-road. The underbody dynamics should be interesting. Traditional SUVs meant to tackle the rough stuff have skid plates and protective armor to guard against rocks and hostile terrain. But the high-riding Bentley will need to be smooth and aerodynamically optimized down low in order to hit the double-century mark.
And let’s not forget the tires. Rubber that can go 200 and keep a well-heeled driver from looking like a heel in the dirt? I’m thinking some lucky company will soon be contacted about some custom work.
Bentley’s conquering of physics will debut next year and go on sale in 2016.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
