Bentley aiming at 200 mph top speed for 2016 SUV

Powered by company's W12 engine

British media is reporting Bentley is targeting a 200 mph top speed for its upcoming SUV.

Bentley's SUV is now a certainty as the company has confirmed the existence of such a model for a couple of times. We also know it will look different than the EXP 9 F concept and will be powered by the company's W12 engine while based on a teaser photo released earlier this week we noticed the styling won't stray away at all from current Bentley designs.

Now, Autocar is saying Bentley's engineers are pulling out all the stops to make the SUV hit an impressive top speed of 200 mph (322 km/h). To achieve this bold objective Bentley will have to lower the roofline and tweak the underbody aerodynamics while at the same time do some changes at the back to come up with a more slippery shape. The vehicle is expected to be almost two meters wide and will probably ride on special tires able to resist at such high speeds but also handle light off-roading.

Bentley's first ever SUV will be unveiled in 2015 but sales will kick off a year later. A plug-in hybrid system will be offered in 2017 by the Crewe-based marque and chances are the SUV will be the one to get it.

Source: autocar.co.uk