Bentley Bentayga V8

It would be misleading to call this a downsized engine. A full-blooded V8 under that calm demeanour makes you want this Bentley

- Girish Karkera

As most of us know, the car has been around since 2015 and created quite a furore for the wrong reasons when the good blokes from Crewe first presented the concept – EXP 9 F – at the 2012 Geneva motor show to preview its SUV intentions. Well, unlike most movies, the trailer was disappointing but the actual film wasn’t. With a much better looking design, the Bentayga did eventually what its makers had hoped it would do sell a lot more cars. In fact, it comprises nearly half of Bentley’s global sales and that says a lot.

Meanwhile, what we had in Austria was a Bentayga with an all-new petrol engine. The car was launched with nothing less than a W12, so in those terms, this engine maybe a down-size, but make no mistake... it is still a 4.0-litre V8. 542bhp. 770Nm. We are talking some serious numbers here, so the car had to be shown some respect. Especially since we had, obviously, snow to tackle here. Lots of it.

The engine is all new and a result of a collaboration between Bentley and sister company Porsche. So, the base hardware is the same including the part where the twin-scroll turbo sits inside the ‘V’ for better efficiency but engineers from ‘ol blighty took over for the calibration and tuning, which is something they know best of what Bentley’s customers would desire. This V8 can hit a maximum of 7200rpm. May not sound much but is in fact, the highest revving unit ever for a production Bentley.

Sorry to spoil it, but firing up the V8 isn’t the most dramatic part of this car. It is fairly loud, yes, but we’ve heard better. And there is a reason because while typical Bentley owners do love a “sporty” car, they still expect a certain level of refinement and sophistication and that includes the exhaust note. The V8 sounds glorious if you make it shriek but you would probably enjoy the orchestra more on the outside. Inside, it’s quiet.