Bentley Bentayga to break records at Pikes Peak

Bentley has confirmed it will attempt to set a new record at the world-famous Pikes Peak hill climb this weekend with its Bentley Bentayga W12.

Hoping to break the fastest production SUV record up the mountain, the Bentayga will be driven by Kiwi Rhys Millen, who has won Pikes Peak outright twice.

Given the current record was set by Land Rover with its Range Rover Sport in 2014, Millen will have to beat a time of 12min 35.610sec up the 19.99km hill climb that includes 156 corners.

To ensure it has a chance, Bentley has chosen its most powerful Bentayga variant -- the W12 that comes equipped with a 6.0-litre 12-cylinder petrol engine that produces 447kW/900Nm.

On the flat, the British car-maker claims the Bentayga can hit 100km/h in just 4.1 seconds and top out somewhere north of 300km/h.

For the record, the Bentayga has had its interior stripped and a full roll cage, race seat and fire extinguisher system fitted to meet the regulations.

Shedding the seats, wood, sound deadening and acres of leather is claimed to have saved an incredible 300kg, although the kerb weight of the Bentayga still hovers around two tonnes.

Keeping the big SUV as close to standard as possible, Bentley engineers have added an optional Akropovic exhaust that's thought might bring a marginal power gain.

The powerful SUV also has been fitted with optional carbon-ceramic brakes.

This year the Bentley will compete alongside Volkswagen, which is back at the famed US mountain after a 31-year absence, with its pure-electric ID R race car that will be driven by Roman Dumas.