Torque is one of the things that makes luxury cars drive really, really well. Nobody wants a huge turbo boost at 4,000 rpm in their Mulsanne. Heck, people barely want a 4,000 rpm redline in their Bentley Mulsanne -- the redline on that car is 4,500. And so it's no surprise that when Bentley CEO Wolfgang Durheimer confirmed that Bentley would be developing a 150,000 Pound (British Pounds, we'll get to weight later) SUV, he thought 738 lb-ft of torque would be sufficient. It's a goofy number here, but in Nm it works out to a nice, round 1,000.
So 1,000 Nm wasn't a surprising number, but the delivery method was a little unexpected: A diesel. Most likely a version of the Q7's V12. Unfortunately, we (in the States) generally don't see the benefit of diesels and will get a W12. I don't think I've ever been so disappointed that a car will only come with a W12.
Durheimer says that the launch and development of the Porsche SUV was one of his "proudest achievements" during his time with the brand. He pulled off a sport SUV, doing a luxury SUV should be a no-brainer.
As for the platform, the Bentley SUV is rumored to run on the same platform as the next-generation Audi Q7. That platform is rumored by Automobile to be an all-aluminum number weighing some 650-pounds less than the current car.
They had us at 1,000Nm diesel V12.....
(AutoCar)
greenpony says:
09:53 AM, 08/12/11
Love the artwork, especially the cloud of soot trailing behind that 100% accurate rendering of what Bentley's Q7 would look like. Is this another Takahashi original?
agt1717 says:
10:32 AM, 08/12/11
A Bentley SUV, who would take it offroad?