The Bentley Bentayga Speed is Britain's biggest muscle car — and probably its best

Charger, Mustang, Challenger, Camaro, Firebird….and Bentayga?

It’s not how that list usually goes, but life is all about trying new things. You might think of the Bentayga as Bentley’s ultra luxurious SUV. You would usually be right. But this isn’t any old Bentayga, this is the Bentayga Speed, which is like the normal Bentayga, but speedier.

How speedy?

Extremely. The numbers here are quite staggering. Power from the twin-turbocharged V8 engine is a whopping 641bhp. 0-62mph in 3.6 seconds. A tidal wave of torque, even at low revs, and a top-speed of 193mph. All this in a car that weighs 2.5 tonnes and is not what we would traditionally call ‘aerodynamic’.

That speed is all well and good, but there are plenty of cars with that kind of performance. What makes the Bentayga Speed such a standout is the sensational, guttural, gargling, gurgling noise of it all. It’s one thing to have performance, it’s quite another to hear it bubbling away underneath you, like someone has stitched a leather armchair on top of a dozing volcano.

It is all too common these days for highly tuned and turbocharged engines to spin through the revs quickly; they’re all treble and no bass. But the good people of Bentley have taken extreme care to leave the bottom end in, so even when cruising around the Shires at leisure, a gentle throaty gargle follows you at all times. It’s like taking a lion to Tesco.

There is no electric system here either. The Speed is all dinosaur-juice V8, all the time, and that only adds to its allure. Give your foot a prod towards the floor, and at first not much happens, but as the noise and the engine slowly builds up from a grumble, to a growl, and to a roar, the power cascades out, and this cigar lounge on wheels disappears up the road. Many people were sad to see the iconic Bentley W12 retire a few years ago, but this is a more-than acceptable replacement that retains all the necessary noise and lag of the older (and less green) big block.

A blast from the past then?

It certainly feels like one, but of course, this is a modern car with modern engineering and all the trimmings. That power is put on the road via four-wheels, all organised by an 8-speed ZF automatic gearbox. It’s all held aloft on adaptive air suspension, integrated with continuous damping control. All a lot of fancy words to describe an outcome that is extremely smooth and balanced.

If there was something that those vintage muscle cars of the past couldn’t do, it was go around corners. While the Speed may not carry the looks of something such as a Camaro or a Challenger, it can tackle the long and winding roads of the UK with complete composure and very little fuss. The handling is further improved by an all-wheel steering system that reduces the turning circle by one metre. It may sound like a 12-litre bag of old bolts in a washing machine, but the Speed is engineered to precision, and moves like the best German competitors.

What else is different from the stock Bentayga?

Inside, not a huge amount. There's a few details around that allude to the Speed’s extra nippiness; a splash of carbon fibre here, the word ‘Speed’ stitched into the seats, and so on. It goes without saying at this point, but the cabin is absolutely divine, and one of Bentley’s best. Outstandingly comfortable, well styled, very tactile and showcasing the very best of British craftsmanship. It’s their job, it’s what the badge stands for, and they continue to do it well. Driving this car for hours is like visiting the spa, except instead of playing whale music during your massage, it’s lions on the Serengeti.

Most of the flourishes can be found on the exterior. We are treated to a spoiler, splitter and diffuser (get them in carbon) and a vast front grille. Someone can debate the efficacy of the improved aerodynamics, but I think they just look very fun, and what’s the point of spending your hard earned money on the Speed if it doesn’t look faster than the base model of the Bentayga. The wheels are 23 inches in diameter, and feature the largest brakes ever fitted on a production car. Again, stylistically they look superb, and they also do the job. Observe.

What the largest brakes ever fitted to a production car stop like 🛑 - YouTube

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This all sounds pretty good. Any downsides?

It’s very large and very expensive. It is not impossible to drive around London, but I wouldn’t describe it as fun. The all-wheel turning system obviously helps, but big is big, whichever way you spin it. And at £219,000, it’s not cheap, and you’ll want the extra big wheels and the Akrapoviç exhaust system, so it’s more than that.

The question, then, is when the base Bentayga comes in at £169,000, is it worth the extra £50,000? I’ve often been sceptical about the ‘special editions’ of already quite quick luxury SUVs. You get plenty of performance from the base models, most of which you’ll probably never use, so what use is the extra 50bhp and 10mph of speed?

And I am usually right, but with the Speed I see it. Or, rather, I hear it. It is such a joyful surprise and one that I genuinely can’t imagine ever getting bored of. Much has been written, and will continue to be written, about how we are losing the feeling of driving. When you think about it, 641bhp isn’t even that much in an electric age. But it’s 641bhp of pure petrol, a symphony of pistons and moving parts, that always delivers. Imagine a song that you played on repeat but never got bored of — that would be worth something, I would think. We spend our lives working to pay for sensations that make us feel joy, and this is one of those.

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So you would say it is a good car? You would not be embarrassed if one of your friends bought this car?

It is an excellent car. It was already my belief that the Bentley Bentayga was one of the finest cars you could buy and drive every day. The Speed is a delightful extra arrow in the quiver, a proper British muscle car that has every-day drivability and class-leading comfort.

So whip out the cowboy boots, leather jacket and denim and ride easy with the satisfaction that you could smoke anything at the lights, in massage seats and with a boot full of shopping, and sound like thunder while you do it.