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And the first Bentley Bentayga goes to... Queen Elizabeth II

The Bentley Bentayga aims to be a lot of things to a select few people. But as the world's fastest, most powerful, and (arguably) most luxurious SUV on the market, it could all boil down to bragging rights for some. So who will get to enjoy the privilege of receiving the very first one? Probably the one person in the world who needs to brag the least: Queen Elizabeth II. The sovereign monarch of the United Kingdom (and more current and former commonwealth countries than we care to count) already rides around in a Bentley State Limousine specially made for the purpose and based on the old Arnage. But she'll now be adding a new Bentayga to her royal motorpool, using it specifically to go hunting at one of her estates in Scotland. She does, after all, own several in the country – including the official Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh and (more likely) her private Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire. Wherever she chooses to drive it, that's got to hurt for Jaguar Land Rover. The rival British automaker has been supplying the royal family with Range Rovers for years. Then again, both companies – alongside Aston Martin and Vauxhall – all hold royal warrants for supplying goods to Her Majesty. Given how many vehicles the royal family must own (and how the Queen has been known to drive herself about), we're sure there's room for all of Britain's finest. Watch Bentley's American CEO Michael Winkler discuss the Bentayga with a spitting image of Rob Cordry in the video above from Bloomberg. Related Video:

Bentley opening new R&D center in Crewe

The world's fastest lorries. That's how Ettore Bugatti referred to cars from Bentley back in the day, employing the British term for trucks, long before the two became sister companies. Those immortal words will come true when Bentley launches its new SUV, which promises not only to be the most luxurious and prestigious but also the first to crack the 200-mile-per-hour mark. But it won't come without its share of investment. Bentley and its parent company Volkswagen will surely have invested untold millions to bring the luxury crossover to market, but the vehicle itself isn't the only major investment the British automaker and its German owners will have made when it does. Bentley is also embarking upon an unprecedented expansion of its headquarters in Crewe. The massive expansion plan, budgeted at over $60 million, will create over 300 new jobs and include the creation of a new research and development center on site. The facility will cover a good half-million square feet and include a design studio, R&D offices and technical workshops that will be home to some 1,300 engineers and will be "the latest step in preparing Bentley's infrastructure to bring the world's first ultra-luxury SUV to roads in 2016." Bentley may undertake some of the SUV's production at home in Crewe, but much of the work is expected to be completed alongside the next Volkswagen Touareg, Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne in Slovakia. The expansion plan was announced by Bentley chief Wolfgang Durheimer (also CEO of Bugatti) while George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer (Britain's equivalent to the Secretary of the Treasury or most any other government's Minister of Finance) was visiting Crewe. "Bentley is an iconic British Brand that exports around the world. Their decision to create another 300 jobs in R&D on a new site providing close to 1,000 new jobs is fantastic news for Crewe and for Britain," said Osborne. "The investment will not only create jobs at Bentley, but support many more through suppliers across the UK." MULTI-MILLION POUND SITE EXPANSION BRINGS NEW JOBS TO BENTLEY - GBP40 million planned investment into Bentley headquarters in Crewe - New research and development centre to house 1,300 Bentley engineers - 300 new roles created (Crewe, 4 December 2014) Today, Bentley has announced the latest phase in the biggest site development in the company's history.

Bentley bringing two-seat sports car to Geneva?

Long subsided on the Continental and Mulsanne model lines, Bentley is on a mission to expand its production portfolio. And the latest reports from Great Britain suggest that it'll present a proposal for expanding it further next month with a conceptual two-seat sports car. The idea has been rumored for several months now, but Autocar claims that Bentley will showcase the two-seat GT at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show. The new model is tipped to be positioned alongside (instead of substantially above or below) the existing Continental GT – much like Ferrari offers the California and 458 Italia (or new 488 GTB) at roughly the same price point – but will likely pack the British automaker's now-familiar, Audi-sourced 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8. Its presentation at the Swiss expo will give Crewe the chance to gauge public opinion before deciding whether to proceed with production plans. It wouldn't be the first time that Bentley had toyed with the idea of a more compact GT. It revealed the Java concept way back in 1994 that never, strictly speaking, made production, but could be said to have paved the way for the current Continental range, and showcased the Hunaudieres mid-engined supercar prototype in 1999 that presaged its winning entry into Le Mans. The as-yet unnamed two-seat GT would be just one of several new models being touted for the British automaker. It is set to launch the new Bentayga crossover in the near future, potentially to be followed by a slant-back crossover coupe variant, a smaller crossover is also said to be under consideration, and it is also rumored to be weighing a four-door coupe to slot in between the Flying Spur and Mulsanne, the latter of which has also been showcased as a two-door convertible version as well.