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Bentley Bentayga flops around on the 'Ring

Bentley CEO Wolfgang Durheimer said the coming W12 Bentayga SUV will be the fastest SUV on the market, drawing a response from Porsche R&D chief Wolfgang Hatz that the next-generation Porsche Cayenne will outdo the Bentley on the road, and with a smaller V8 engine. We're going to assume that post and riposte is over top-speed honors, because judging by video of a prototype Bentayga lapping the Nurburgring, it won't be a Continental GT with a lift kit and it won't even be a current Cayenne GTS. In this video the Bentayga looks built for luxury, not cornering speed, as the body rolls over to the outside and the nannies shift the nose back into line when the driver pushes it through curbs. Or it could be that like the Mercedes-Benz G-Class, the Bentayga comes with some intense off-road chops that preclude tight-ship turning. And admittedly, we have no idea how this prototype is set up, but Porsche will probably take it as more reason to be smug anyway. Related Video: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Bentley one-off limo to feature at Buckingham Palace Coronation Festival

Probably the only time a Bentley Mulsanne could come off as somewhat ordinary is when it shares a driveway with the Bentley State Limousine built for Queen Victoria. That's exactly what's going to happen during the Coronation Festival happening in the Buckingham Palace Gardens from July 11-14, where Bentley will show both cars and more.
Outside of the sedans and a few others Bentley is bringing to the festival, the brand from Crewe will provide a glimpse at what goes in them. An outdoor display of "bespoke" craftsmanship will have specialists from the factory demonstrating how to cross-stitch a steering wheel and how to make cross-banded veneers.
There's a press release below with more information, and the queen's car show awaits you later this week.

2019 Bentley Bentayga V8 First Drive Review | Losing cylinders but not much else

There's no such thing as a cheap Bentley. Even though the new-for-2019 Bentayga V8 is $30,000 less expensive than its W12-powered sibling, the twin-turbo V8's $165,000 window sticker still puts it well into the upper echelon of pricey luxury vehicles. Bentley is loathe to compare the two versions of the Bentayga — what parent wants to pit siblings against one another? — but does frame the V8 edition as a somewhat sportier alternative to the full-bore, glitz and glamor W12. Let's examine that line of reasoning. Under the hood of the Bentayga V8 is a 4.0-liter turbocharged engine that shares most of its bits with the latest Porsche Panamera and Cayenne Turbo. The engine is specifically tuned for use in this new application, with a unique sound signature and a cooling package that Bentley says will keep it running comfortably even in the face of the largest desert sand dunes in the world. The V8's peak of 568 pound-feet of torque hits below 2,000 rpm and stays exactly there until 4,500, with a horsepower peak of 542 at 6,000. From behind the wheel, the Bentayga's V8 engine feels a bit higher strung than the effortless W12. Instead of instant torque, there's a strong rush of power that builds nicely until it nears its 7,000-rpm redline, the highest rev limit of any engine the brand has ever installed in a passenger vehicle. If such a peaky-sounding engine seems incongruous with the intent of a luxury SUV, just know that there's plenty of stonk available any time the driver decides to push a red-bottomed Louboutin into the plush carpet. It's just a little less than what'd be on call from the W12, but there's not enough of a discrepancy to really matter. The V8 is a bit less sprightly to 60 than the W12 — 4.4 seconds versus 4.1 — and, with its 180-mile-per-hour top speed, it's a meaningless 7 mph slower at the top end, too. So, that doesn't really support the idea of sportiness. Neither too does the V8 handle any differently than the W12. There's only about a hundred pounds separating the two vehicles, with the new V8 edition weighing in at 5,264 pounds. And since only half of that weight savings is centered over the front axle, there isn't any real change to the Bentayga's driving dynamics or steering feel. That's not to say the Bentley Bentayga V8 doesn't drive well, it just doesn't drive differently than its more powerful, more expensive sibling.