Bentley close to giving Speed 6 go head

Bentley has announced that it is close to approving a production version of the Aston Martin Vantage-rivalling EXP 10 Speed 6 concept that was revealed early this year at the Geneva motor show.

The small Bentley’s future was in doubt following the Swiss show after the British car-maker was reportedly under pressure to sacrifice it for a new smaller SUV to rival Porsche’s Cayenne but now, according to car magazine Autocar, it is likely to make both.

Arguably the star of the Geneva show, work has already begun on adapting the Speed 6 to a production model.

Set to be front-engined, rear-drive coupe, any production version will almost certainly be based on the same Volkswagen Group MSB platform as the next Continental GT and Porsche Panamera.

Under the bonnet the production Speed 6 is also likely to be powered by Audi's twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8, offering more than 370kW of power and 800Nm of torque, but according to reports, Bentley is also considering an all-wheel drive pure electric version that is likely to hit 100km/h in less than 3.5 seconds and top out at 320km/h. The pure-electric Speed 6 will also have a range of around 500km.

Speaking about the pure-electric Speed 6 Bentley, CEO Wolfgang Durheimer, said he hoped weight would be less than 2000kg and added: "We believe battery technology is reaching a point of where such vehicles are making sense," says Durheimer. "And the performance will be stunning."

No launch date has been confirmed for the small sports car but it is expected to arrive around 2020 after the sub-Bantayga SUV - if the decision is granted to expand the range by the Volkswagen Group.

The reason Bentley is keen to fast track an SUV ahead of the coupe is because the Brit car-maker is keen to share the high costs of the big Bentayga’s research and development.

“It’ll be a matter of plug and play”, says Durheimer explaining how much in common both the big SUV will potentially have with is smaller mini-me beneath the skin.

That’s why when it arrives the new SUV is expected to come with the same twin-turbocharged 447kW/900Nm 6.0-litre W12 engine the Bentayga gets making it the world’s fastest SUV, accelerating to 100km/h in less than 4.0 seconds and topping out well over the big Bentley’s, already rapid, 301km/h.

The smaller SUV that will be bigger than a Macan, but smaller in size than a Cayenne, will also come with the Bentayga’s V8, diesel and future plug-in hybrid powertrains.

Set to go on sale in 2017, the new small SUV is expected to be priced under $250,000.

Bentley is already reaping the rewards of going ahead with the controversial full-size Bentayga. Receiving a strong order bank following its Frankfurt reveal the British car-maker has had to up production from 3600 to 5500 units per year just to keep up with demand.

Speaking to Autocar, Durheimer said:”We are very pleased with the reception the model has had especially since our estimates are based only on W12 sales and we have the V8, diesel and V6 hybrid models to launch.

“It is easy to imagine the Bentayga accounting for 50% of all Bentley sales in a relatively short time."