Bentley’s long-awaited luxury SUV will be called the Bentayga and will go on sale in 2016 after the wraps finally come off the production model later this year.
The Volkswagen-owned brand said the name comes from the Roque Bentayga, a mountain landscape on Gran Canaria.
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Chairman and chief executive officer Wolfgang Dürheimer, said: “Bentayga is a name that reflects what we know our SUV will do better than any other car in the world – combine the best automotive luxury with outstanding performance.”
Dürheimer told journalists at the Detroit show the new SUV would be powered by W12 and V8 engines while a plug-in hybrid will also be available. A smaller SUV could also be in the pipeline although reports are, as yet, unconfirmed.
Bentley has just recorded its fifth straight record sales year, up 9% in 2014 to 11,020, of which 87% were exported. The new SUV will push sales even higher from next year and the company said it had already received a lot of interest from potential customers.
The brand is looking to boost production at its factory in Crewe, England, to 20,000 a year by 2020 and has already started work on a new GBP280m (USD425m) R&D centre close to the plant.
