Bentley goes diesel in 270km/h Bentayga

ULTRA-LUXURY car builder Bentley has announced its first diesel-powered vehicle in almost a century of production, promising a grunty Audi-derived 4.0-litre V8 oil burner for its new Bentayga large SUV next year.

Shared with Volkswagen Group sister company Audi’s SQ7, the triple turbo engine pumps out 320kW of power and 900Nm of torque – enough to propel the 2.4-tonne wagon from zero to 100km/h in 4.8 seconds and on to 270km/h.

According to Bentley, this top speed makes the Bentayga the world’s fastest diesel, mainly because the Audi big boy’s top speed is electronically limited to 250km/h.

The diesel Bentayga will go on sale in Europe in early 2017 before being rolled out to other markets, including Australia, later in 2017.

It will be offered alongside variants equipped with the 6.0-litre W12 turbocharged petrol engine that puts out 447kW and 900Nm for a 0-100km/h dash in 4.1 seconds. This version has been a sell-out success since it went on sale in Australia in March this year.

As expected, the diesel version will not only offer major fuel savings over the petrol version, but also improve the theoretical driving range to about 1000km on its 85 litre tank.

While the petrol Bentayga consumes 12.8 litres per 100km, the diesel slurps a claimed 7.9L/100km on the European combined test cycle. CO2 emissions drop from 296 grams per kilometre to just 210, easily making the diesel Bentayga the most fuel-efficient Bentley ever built.

A high-performance petrol-electric hybrid powertrain is also expected in Bentayga at some point.

At the heart of the diesel Bentayga is the new-generation V8 that combines three induction blowers – two conventional twin-scroll sequential turbochargers and an electric-powered compressor that spools up in just 30 microseconds to help eliminate turbo lag.

According to Bentley, the result is “effortless, seamless power delivery across the entire engine range”.

Peak torque is achieved at 1000rpm – a factor that aids off-road performance, should a Bentayga owner ever consider that.

A world first when it arrived on the Audi SQ7, the electric blower runs on 48 volts, which is no problem for the Bentayga, as all of its electricals run on this voltage instead of the conventional 12 volts.

The engine is hooked up to the ubiquitous eight-speed ZF automatic transmission.

Unique to the Bentley is a bespoke exhaust system that is said to be engineered for hush-hush motoring befitting the British marque.

In traffic, the diesel Bentayga can be identified by a V8 Diesel badge on the lower edge of the front doors, a quad exhaust system and a unique black grille with chrome surround and central bar.

A new wood veneer, Liquid Amber, is introduced on the diesel variant. As always the timber is hand-shaped.

A long list of comfort and safety features are standard on all Bentayga variants, along with a multitude of options such park assist and high-end audio systems.

So far this year, Bentley has delivered 22 of the $423,600 petrol-powered Bentaygas in Australia, making it the company’s second best seller behind the Continental Coupe and Convertible twins (62 units).