I like the looks of this... http://www.caranddriver.com/news/bentley-exp-9-f-concept-auto-shows?redirect=no
Range Rover-ish from the rear, Continental GT from the front... Very creative... Pointless car, but I bet they will sell loads to people who are tired of Cayennes on every corner.
Interior is nice. Exterior is a pure branding exercise. Wish they gave it more personality on the outside, and made the headlights cohesive with the rest of the car. Still, nice effort. Wonder how it compares to the Cayenne turbo in terms of performance.
some "live" shots: http://www.autoblog.com/photos/volkswagen-group-night/#photo-4868688/ sample... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Maybe if they moved the headlamps a little closer to the grill and made the fog lamps much smaller, it would look a lot better. It needs that proper "brutal" Bentley high-end look! A little bit like this front (current Mulsanne): Image Unavailable, Please Login
I agree, I see a lot of Range Rover lines in that rear (C Pillar) and in the side profile. I'm sure it will sell, like you said, I see numerous Bentley Continentals GTs running around.
It has to have the muscular bulk of a Bentley. To do that grille justice, the SUV needs to be massive, closer to Excursion/Expedition than the Range Rover. Further, the raised tapering line on the bonnet needs to made proportional, and the bumper mass needs to be revised. Right now, it's a transplant of the Bentley sedan fascia on to a traditional SUV volume, and it just does not work for me. It looks like one of those ridiculous Chinese or Korean car front ends.
If they go through with this, I think they will tweek it enough to be a great SUV. I would buy one, provided it has the power to move all that weight around. MJ
Isn't it just a Bentley grill grafted onto the front of a Cayenne/Touareg? Essentially just badge engineering?
Bentley Motors called me directly the day after the debut and would not give timing or a price. Anything is pure speculation at this point.
Lots more pics here at Evo mag, cool video too. "Bentley’s traditional honeycomb grille is retained, as are the distinctive round headlights and side vents, feeding air to the numerous radiators tasked with cooling the twin-turbo, 6-litre, 600bhp, 590lb ft W12 fitted under its nose. The engine is linked to an eight-speed automatic gearbox, which permanently delivers its power to all four wheels. Apart from this all new 6-litre W12, Durheimer is looking at several other alternative powerplants, including Bentley’s new 4-litre twin-turbo V8 (recently debuted in the 2012 Continental GT), a six-cylinder hybrid drivetrain and, most controversially of all, a powerful V8 diesel engine for the European market in particular." http://www.evo.co.uk/news/evonews/279787/bentley_exp9f_suv_concept_revealed.html?CMP=NLC-Newsletters <embed src="http://www.evo.co.uk/vendor-swf/JW/5.7/player-5.7.swf" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="file=&plugins=dcinstream,gapro-1&dcinstream.ad.tag=http://ad.doubleclick.net/pfadx/evo.co.uk/news/evonews;tile=11;bigad=yes;live=yes;type=article;make=bentley;model=flyingspur;sz=468x430;ord=6788025778?&dcinstream.ad.position=pre&gapro.accountid=UA-4196494-1&gapro.trackpercentage=true&gapro.tracktime=true&gapro.trackcompletes=true&gapro.trackdetails=true&gapro.trackerror=true&autostart=true" width="" height="" /> http://www.evo.co.uk/news/evonews/279787/bentley_exp9f_suv_concept_revealed.html?CMP=NLC-Newsletters&uid=0e7a515a41a6eb1203e508b38eb925b4
I really like it. Ive been in the market for an SUV for my wife FOR THE PAST YEAR and i still can't pull the trigger because they all look like toyotas or a prop in a gangs video. This one stands alone, i likey!
