Lamborghini's SUV, the Urus, is being put through the paces before reaching showrooms; so, too, is the Maserati Levante. Rolls-Royce became the latest to join the crowd, although it deigned to use the initials "SUV" in its product announcement last week: The company prefers to call it a"high-bodied car" able to "cross any terrain."
Bentley looks poised to beat its fancy rivals to market and promises to unveil its road-ready Bentayga SUV sometime in the third quarter. Once it hits dealerships in early 2016, the company expects to sell at least 3,000 SUVs per year. If Bentley's traditional car business remains at current levels, that would represent an immediate 30 percent boost in volume.
“We basically want to create a new market segment,” Bentley's Georges says. “If other people are thinking of doing the same, it just means our idea is not so bad, huh?”