Bentley has made no bones about expanding its lineup. What was once a company that only had the Continental as a model, Bentley has slowly built up a lineup that now includes the Mulsanne, Flying Spur, and the recently launched Bentayga SUV. With all four models already in the market, the British automaker is looking ahead to a fifth, and possibly sixth model. The only question, which one is going to come first. Autocar caught up with Bentley chief Wolfgang Dürheimer to discuss which of the two models – a sportier version of the Bentayga, or a production version of the EXP 10 Speed 6 concept – is Bentley preparing first.
According to Dürheimer, no decision has been made on that front but he did indicate that both models could be developed one after the other. For a long time, it was believed to be that the sporty SUV was the next model up for Bentley. But the success and overwhelmingly positive reception the EXP 10 Speed 6 Concept received at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show has given Bentley a good problem on its hands.
Fortunately, we won’t have to wait too long for an answer as Dürheimer promised an answer “by the end of the year.” And for what it’s worth, the automaker is already working on both, but finances and manpower prevent them from doing both models at the same time. Still, it’s good to know that Bentley isn’t making an “either-or” choice on the matter. It plans to build both; it just depends on which model it wants to do first.
Either way, expect both the sporty Bentayga SUV and the sports car, reportedly named the Barnato, to both arrive by 2020. That timetable ties into the company’s plan to grow its sales volume to 20,000 sold units per year by 2025. Likewise, the timetable for both cars figures into Bentley’s other plan of investing £840 million in infrastructure, processes and technical equipment by the end of 2018.
The wheels are definitely spinning over in Crewe, U.K. as Bentley continues to ramp up its long-term plan of becoming a bigger player in the premium markets of the auto industry.
Continue after the jump to read the full story.
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