After over a year of speculation, Bentley has finally confirmed that it will produce an SUV. The new model line will be built in Crewe and will go on sale in 2016.
The new model will will represent the brand’s hallmarks of “luxury, performance, quality and craftsmanship”, and Bentley says that it will be the “most luxurious and most powerful SUV” on the market. The announcement of a production SUV follows the Bentley EXP 9 F concept, which was shown at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. The as-yet unnnamed SUV will help create 1,000 jobs in the UK.
To prepare for the fourth model in its lineup, Bentley will be investing 800 million British pounds (around $1.2 billion USD) into its Crewe headquarters and production lines over the next three years.
This £800 million investment and a thousand new jobs from Bentley is fantastic news for both Crewe and for the UK as a whole. It is another important milestone in strengthening our economy. I am delighted that Bentley will be building their new vehicle here, not only creating a thousand jobs, but safeguarding many more, as well as increasing training opportunities for highly skilled apprentices.
– David Cameron, Prime Minister, United Kingdom
The Bentley SUV is likely to share its platform with the next-generation Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne. Past rumors have indicated that the SUV could look completely different from the 2012 EXP 9 F Concept shown above, be renamed the Falcon and offer options like a plug-in hybrid version and three-row seating.
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