2024 Bentley Bentayga EWB Mulliner First Look: The Flagship of Flagship SUVs

“Flagship”—Bentley uses this word a lot. Like, a lot. And it’s not wrong: If we were going to direct a fleet from the passenger seat of an automobile, any of the Bentleys would do nicely. We have to agree, though, that the 2024 Bentley Bentayga EWB Mulliner is more worthy of the title than most. Big, roomy, and as elegant as a Bentley can get? Yes, this is definitely the commodore’s ride. Introduced at The Quail during Monterey Car Week 2023, the Bentayga EWB Mulliner is, as the name makes so obvious, the high-end Mulliner version of the extended-wheelbase Bentayga.

What Is It?

For those unfamiliar, the EWB is 7 inches longer than the standard-size Bentayga, but it’s not just a simple stretch: Bentley created some 2,500 new parts for the plus-size Bentayga, including a four-wheel-steering system that gives the EWB a tighter turning circle than the regular version, and rear doors that power themselves closed. An optional “airline seat” with 40 degrees of recline reacts to body temperature by heating and cooling different sections and adjusting pressure points for maximum comfort. And if that doesn’t sound like any kind of airline seat you’ve ever sat in, remember that Bentley buyers don’t fly coach.

More of What You Get

In the Mulliner version, you’ll find those airline seats wrapped in Mulliner Harmony Diamond Quilt leather in one of eight exclusive three-color combinations. Don’t like any of them? No problem—this is a Bentley, after all, and you can choose any colors you damn well please. The interior is not vegan, but Bentley now uses hides from the meat industry, which might otherwise go to a landfill. The leather is tanned using a sustainable process with waste water from olive mills, of all things. The wood is black veneer, and there’s a turned-metal motif on the center console.  On the doors, LED lights glow through diamond-patterned perforated leather. Deep-pile wool floormats and Mulliner badging galore round out the cabin.

Outside, the 2024 Bentley Bentayga EWB Mulliner is distinguished, like other Mulliner models, by the diamond-pattern grille and unique 22-inch wheels with self-leveling center caps. The optional Muller Blackline Specification darkens the wheels and all of the exterior chrome save the Bentley badges.

Performance Outlook

You might expect this flagship to be powered by Bentley’s legendary W-12, but that (flag)ship has sailed; the Bentayga EWB Mulliner’s powerplant is the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8, delivering 542 hp and 568 lb-ft of torque to all four wheels. Bentley estimates a top speed of 180 mph and a 0-60 time of 4.5 seconds. We haven’t yet track-tested an extended-wheelbase Bentayga, but the last standard-wheelbase V-8 Bentayga we tested made it to 60 in 3.6 seconds. Even allowing for the extra weight of the larger Bentayga model, we think 4.5 is a conservative estimate.

Ready to sign on the dotted line? Bentley will start taking orders this lovely summer weekend, just in time to discuss your new purchase at this year’s Monterey Car Week. Price? Oh, baby, if you have to ask.… Expect a starting point of about $336,000, just more than a hundred grand on top of the cost of a regular Bentayga EWB—and that’s before options, which can easily cost as much as a couple of Hondas. Our guess is that when the cars actually land here next summer, you won’t see many of these flagships roll out of the dealerships for much less than $400,000—but isn’t it worth it for an SUV from which you could truly command an armada?

Source: Read Full Article