Bentley hit the FAT Ice Race in Austria with a new concept.
As an ultra-luxury brand, your average Bentley is far more at home in Beverly Hills than, say, hitting the trail or taking to some Austrian snow and ice. Nevertheless, that’s what we have here, as even the Bentayga jumps in on the red-hot craze that is today’s off-road SUV market. The new Bentley Bentaya X Concept, as its called, answers the question of what a more hardcore, dirt-worthy version of what is otherwise a $200,000-plus luxe SUV would look like.
At its core, you still get the power a Bentayga is known for. The X Concept is based on the Bentayga Speed, packing a cool 641 horsepower from a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 shared with the Lamborghini Urus S (though the Lambo is a bit more powerful these days). This concept also has a far wider stance, as Bentley increased the track by five whole inches, while raising the car by two inches so it has more than 12 inches of ground clearance and can wade through water up to 21.7 inches deep.
Apart from just having a wider track, the Bentayga X Concept also gets chunky all-terrain rubber, wrapped around 22-inch Brixton specialty wheels. The car also gets roof-top storage to keep the interior practicality intact, as well s a set of four spotlights. On the rack, there’s even an electric go-kart (used in the FAT karting league) to show the extra cargo capability. Up front, the more dirt (or ice)-worthy concept gets a couple of recovery points, while there’s also an Akrapovič titanium exhaust system.
Now, whether Bentley actually turns this into a trim level or special package remains to be seen. One of the reasons for this decal-adorned concept is to solicit some feedback, so the automaker may go this route if folks really want them to. As for how much it will cost, that’s also a question mark. But the standard Bentayga Speed is already in the upper-$200K range, so…it definitely won’t be “cheap”, by any stretch.
And since we’re having some fun with Bentley…
