Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/604914
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 22 NOVEMBER 2015 I MOTORING Bentley to reveal Ferrari 488 rival and 'super Bentayga' Two new luxury sports cars are on the cards for Bentley, and we could see them at a motor show next year BENTLEY will unleash not one but two brand new sports luxury cars, possibly as early as next year. The first will be a faster, more powerful, much more dramatical- ly styled version of the Bentayga - a 'super Bentayga', if you will. Think BMW X6M and then some, ac- cording to Bentley insiders. The second will be an all electric two-seater mid-engined hypercar based on the gorgeous EXP 10 Speed Six concept car, and is set to rival the likes of the Ferrari 488, McLaren's 675 LT and the Aston Martin DBS. Speaking at the launch of the new Bentayga in Spain, Bentley CEO Wolfgang Durheimer confirmed that both cars are now very much in line for full production, albeit with some fine tuning to ensure that the business case stacks up in each instance. Both cars are the result of the Bentayga be- ing such a runaway success in terms of initial sales, first year production of the Bentayga having been expanded from 3500 cars to over 5000. This means the investment required to make such exciting new cars is already being generated. "The customer response to EXP 10 Speed Six was phenomenal, and so we want to build on this and make it a reality" said Durheimer. "We are investing now more than ever be- fore, over €840million over three years. Our people and our products are key to our fu- ture." In a nutshell, that's why these two radical new Bentleys are now very much on the agen- da at Crewe. Initial speculation about the EXP 10 centred on the car being powered by a more powerful version of the Bentayga's new twin-turbo W12 engine, but Durheimer said that he wants the car to be fully electric, and boast the equiva- lent of at least 500bhp. It may even be rear wheel-drive, according to Bentley's product line director, Peter Guest. As for the 'super Bentayga', Guest says the car will be "much more biased towards on- road performance compared with the Ben- tayga. But it will still have four doors and four seats. "It might not have as much luggage space as the Bentayga" he admits, "but it will be much more aggressively styled, and a lot faster, a lot more dramatic." Both new Bentley's will make their debuts "sometime next year." The first may even ap- pear in concept guise as early as the Geneva Motor Show in March. In the meantime, Bentley has also confirmed that there will be two further versions of the regular Bentayga, one that's turbo-diesel powered, another with petrol-electric hybrid power. Both will go on sale during the next 12-18 months, once deliveries of the W12- powered cars have begun in March next year. The first W12 Bentayga is due to roll off the production line at Crewe at noon on Friday 27 November. EXP 10 Speed Six EXP 10 Speed Six interior Bentayga Bentayga interior