Bentley Motors today said it will go ahead with the development of the brand's first SUV. The model will go on sale in 2016 as "the most powerful SUV in the market," the company said. The vehicle will be the world's most expensive SUV with a starting cost of about 180,000 euros ($237,000), according to previous comments by company executives.
The SUV will be a key model in Bentley's target to almost double sales to 15,000 vehicles by 2018. Last year, Bentley delivered 8,510 cars, up 22 percent from 2011. Operating profit jumped to 100 million euros ($132 million) in 2012 from 8 million a year earlier. The addition of the SUV mirrors the strategy followed by Porsche, which flanked its sports cars with the Cayenne SUV, now the brand's best-seller. The Bentley SUV likely will share the same platform as the Cayenne and the Audi Q7.The vehicle will be based on the EXP 9 F concept unveiled at the Geneva auto show last year, but the design has changed substantially.
The Bentley model is part of a trend of rolling out ever more expensive SUVs to cater to wealthy buyers in emerging markets that aren't tied to traditional sedans. Maserati plans to introduce the Levante crossover as early as 2015. Bentley's sister brand Lamborghini showed an SUV concept in China last year that it hopes to get approval to build.
Sketch for the new design released today.
Below are some of the Images for the concept SUV . But its has been changed to gerater extent by Bentley as mentioned in press release July 23rd 2013. read here http://www.bentleymedia.com/release-481.htm