Bentley is hoping to stretch its reach further into the realms of luxury with the 2022 Bentley Bentayga Extended Wheel Base. The Bentley Bentayga EWB is based on the second generation of Bentayga, extending the wheelbase and rear cabin space by an extra 180mm. The changes to the underfloor, side panels, door and roof were worked on by Bentley’s design team to ensure the sharp lines and proportions of the Bentayga remain elegant and stylish. The increased length results in the wheelbase of the car being stretched from 2995 to 3175mm brining the total length to 5322mm. All of the increase in in the rear door panel highlighting the focus in the creating an even more sumptuous rear cabin with an emphasis on comfort and wellness. This is reflected in the introduction of the world’s first auto climate and advanced postural adjustment rear seat.
The new cabin space allows for the new Bentley Airline Seat which Bentley claims to be the ‘most advanced seat ever fitted to a car, with 22-ways of adjustment’. Having attended to the preview of the car earlier this year, I can confirm that the rear seats in this configuration are sublime, with ample room and endless adjustability.
The front passenger seat can be pushed forward and a leather-trimmed footrest can be deployed whilst rear passenger seats sense the occupant’s temperature and determine whether to apply heat, ventilation or both simultaneously whilst the postural adjustment system automatically makes micro adjustments to the occupant’s seating position pressure points by measuring pressure across the seats surface: clever stuff! Elsewhere in the cabin, there is a more advanced stitching design, Bentley Diamond Illumination on the door sills and a total of 24 billion(!) trim combinations that can be chosen from.
Bentley predicts that the EWB model will account for 45% of Bentayga sales, but for many the two Airline Seats in the rear may not be the most desirable set up. No problem, a standard 4+1 seating layout is offered with the two outer rear seats featuring 16 ways of adjustment, heating, ventilation and five massage programmes.
Visually the 2022 Bentley Bentayga EWB can be spotted from its new ‘Vertical Vane Grille’ design, new 22 inch 10-spoke wheel, repositioned sunroof and, of course, that elongated rear door.
Mechanically the car is identical to the V8 offering in the Bentayga range with the exception of the rear-wheel-steer system that is new to the EWB. It allows the turning radius to be reduced by up to 7% helping compensate for the additional length of the Extended Wheel Base.
Expect to see the 2022 Bentley Bentayga Extended Wheel Base on the road soon knowing that the occupants are enjoying levels of comfort never previously experience in a Bentley SUV.