Bentley Opted for SUV Over New Sports Car
We all know hindsight is 20/20, and we can’t help but wonder if Bentley had the opportunity to do it all over again if they would have chosen a different path.
The British luxury automaker debuted their 9 F Concept SUV at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show to much criticism and it didn’t take long for Bentley to announce that the design would be revamped.
In an interview with Motor Trend, CEO Wolfgang Durheimer explained that Bentley had a few options when he decided to expand the model range. Besides the SUV that we see here today, Bentley strongly considered another sports car – one that would be smaller and more pure than the Continental GT. Durheimer didn’t elaborate on the other options, but did say that the sports car even has a model sitting outside the office of Dirk van Braeckel, the company’s head of design.
As for how Durheimer feels with the SUV option? “In the end the SUV was a better idea. It sits above all its competition. The sports car would have had the Porsche 911 Turbo as opposition.” We guess Durheimer doesn’t really see the Cayenne as competition to its upcoming SUV model.
Regardless, we are interested to see what Bentley does to change the design of their SUV around to make it more… palatable.
GALLERY: Bentley EXP 9 F Concept
[Source: Motor Trend]
Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.
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