Bentayga -- just the beginning of Bentley's SUV future

Bentley CEO Wolfgang Durheimer has let slip that a smaller SUV could follow in the tyre tracks of its big Bentayga SUV.

The revelation was made in an interview with British car magazine Auto Express at the recent Shanghai motor show, where Durheimer was explaining how the Volkswagen Group-owned Bentley would expand its range of vehicles.

“We are a fairly small company and can’t have too many balls in the air at the same time. I think the balls in the air are very well defined right now – it’s a fifth model line that’s very well defined here (with the EXP 10 Speed 6 concept) and its further SUV derivatives – they are our main two search criteria.”

When pushed on what “further SUVs” he was referring to and asked if there could be a smaller version of the Bentayga, Durheimer replied “yes”.

Since the Bentayga is based on the new MLB (evo) architecture that underpins the Audi Q7, this has led to speculation that the new baby Bentley SUV could be based on the same platform as the Audi Q5.

More likely is the new SUV will actually be based on the all-new lightweight MSB platform that we’ll first see with the all-new Porsche Panamera in 2016 and the replacement for the Bentley Continental GT a year later.

The advantage of the all-new MSP architecture is that it has been designed to accommodate both rear and all-wheel drive and package-protected for a hybrid powertrain’s battery cells.

Auto Express suggests the new small Bentley SUV could come at the expense of the well-received EXP 10 Speed 6 since Bentley’s limited R&D resources might favour the more profitable SUV that could become the British firm’s best-selling vehicle in the US and emerging markets like China.

Bentley hopes it will sell 3000 to 4000 of the Bentayga when it goes on sale next year.

The production version will be launched this September at the Frankfurt motor show and should help the luxury car-maker’s global sales increase from the current 8150 to well over 15,000 by 2018. By 2020 it hopes to sell more than 20,000 cars worldwide -- easily achievable with the arrival of a small SUV.

Bentley has confirmed the Bentayga will arrive here in Australia “early next year”, but still hasn’t confirmed how much it will sell for. Instead, representatives from Bentley Australia have said instead it “won’t be the most expensive Bentley in the market.”