Sportier Bentley Bentayga S V8 revealed

A V8-powered Bentley Bentayga S model has been developed to slot into the luxury SUV line-up underneath the flagship Speed variant.

The headline news is the 2021 Bentley Bentayga S gets a new sports exhaust and unique chassis tune, plus a more menacing look, thanks to liberal use of gloss black trim where the regular V8 model normally features chrome.

The darker elements include black brightwork on the front grille, lower and side air intakes, window surrounds, headlight and tail-light housings and front fender side strakes.

Gloss black is also used for the front splitter, rear bumper and side skirts.

Boosting the visual aggression further, the big Bentyaga gets a set of huge 22-inch five-spoke alloy rims, plus a new sports exhaust that's been specially designed the V8 S.

Those new pipes are said to not only ramp up the volume of the V8 but add a sportier note.

The sports exhaust's finisher pipes are also available in silver, full gloss black or a special two-tone look.

Within the Bentayga's luxurious cabin, the S gets Alcantara sport seats up front.

Like the rest of the Bentley SUV range, there's the choice of four, five or seven seats. Whichever one you pick, look out for the extra S logos on the seats and treadplates.

Under the bonnet, the standard Bentayga twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 carries over, producing an identical 404kW and 770Nm of torque.

This is enough to haul it from 0-100km/h in just 4.5 seconds and on to a 290km/h top speed.

What has changed is the Bentayga S now features a retuned version of the regular model's three-chamber air suspension that's claimed to have been stiffened up by 15 per cent compared to standard in 'sport' mode.

The same dynamic mode is also claimed to introduce a more engaging map for the traction control and the active anti-roll bars.

The result, engineers claim, is an SUV that boasts increased agility and less body roll, with the added benefit of better steering feel.

Finally, a tweaked torque vectoring system is also said to improve turn-in.

Despite its sportier set-up, Bentley says the Bentayga S is still available with the optional All Terrain pack that features four traction-enhancing modes (Snow and Wet Grass, Dirt and Gravel, Mud and Trail, Sand).

In the UK, the Bentley Bentayga S is priced from £179,900 ($A328,000), but since the base sticker price of the Bentley V8 starts at $340,400 plus on-road costs in Australia, expect a healthy premium to be levied on the new model here.