Bentley refocuses its range-topping SUV and ends up filling a space that was recently vacated.
Happy tenth birthday to the Bentley Bentayga! It’s hard to believe the SUV has been around this long, and over the years it has seen many powertrains, a much-needed facelift, and the addition of an extended-wheelbase version. But while it was a pioneer of sorts when it was launched, a decade on, the market is flooded with super-luxury sports SUVs.
So, as a sort of birthday present to itself, the performance-oriented Speed variant has been reintroduced, albeit repositioned slightly to help it stand out better in a crowded marketplace. Where the previous Speed represented the ultimate in Bentley excess, the new one leans more into its sporty side. The W12 engine has been replaced by the twin-turbo V8, albeit without the hybrid system of the Continental GT Speed, the suspension has been stiffened, and almost all mechanical aspects of the car have been retuned to make it more agile, more responsive and more emotional.
2025 Bentley Bentayga Speed exterior design and engineering – 8/10
Bigger wheel option adds drama to an SUV already high on road presence.
Optional 23-inch wheels are largest ever on a Bentley.
You’ll have to be well versed in Bentley’s various model lines to identify the Bentayga Speed, because the visual cues are few and subtle, and much can be changed in customisation. For example, red brake calipers are standard on the Speed, but you can specify other colours, and you can also specify silicon carbide brake discs – the largest in the world, measuring 440mm at the front.
You can also option 23-inch wheels for the first time on a Bentley ever, finished here in Grey Satin, and these do well to highlight the Speed’s added performance. There are ‘Speed’ badges on the front doors of course, and by default, bright chrome is replaced by dark chrome, the headlamp internals are dark, while the tail-lamp lenses are clear.
Headlamp internals get a darkened finish on the Speed variant.
These changes aside, there are of course different bumpers on the Speed compared to other Bentaygas, and the options list does include a few unique extras.
2025 Bentley Bentayga Speed interior space and comfort – 8/10
Classy place to spend time, enhanced with a few sportier trim options.
The Bentayga Speed is not available in EWB guise, but don’t think that means it is short on space, comfort or luxury. The rear seat can be had as a single bench or a split, two-seat layout with powered chairs, heating, ventilation and massage, and a fixed centre console between them. These offer exceptional support and comfort, ‘Speed’ embroidered into the seatbacks and the option of sportier upholstery options, like Alcantara. You get the option of a Panoramic sunroof as well, and powered window blinds and a touchscreen controller are also part of the package.
The Speed is not available in EWB guise, but there’s no shortage of space or comfort.
Quality is, expectedly, exceptional, save for the front centre console, which as in all Bentleys, continues to be plagued by very ordinary-looking plastic buttons. Elsewhere though, you’ll find thick hides, generous cross stitching, shiny chrome and vast customisation possibility (although not quite as much as in the range-topping Mulliner variant). This includes a huge choice of trim levels, including stone instead of wood – something unique to Bentley.
2025 Bentley Bentayga Speed features and safety – 8/10
Good amount of standard features, and lots more possible via the options list.
As with any luxury vehicle these days, prepare to spend for additional specification and personalisation, but in the Bentayga Speed, the upgrades are more performance oriented. That said, the standard specification for the SUV appears to be pretty generous as well. It includes a 590W, 12-speaker audio system (20-speaker Naim audio is optional), Matrix LED headlamps, 8 airbags, wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, park assist, onboard Wifi and a digital assistant.
Centre console still retains tactile physical controls for essential functions.
The 10.9-inch central touchscreen will be familiar if you’ve used other VW Group luxury cars, and the layout is generally simple and easy to navigate. Bentley must be credited here for providing tactile physical controls on the centre console for all essential functions and then some. The digital driver’s display has also come a long way in a decade and now has several customisable display, including some unique to the Speed, all of which look sensational.
There’s also a heads-up display, and while clean looking, it doesn’t show you a whole lot of information, and there’s an ADAS suite on offer as well.
2025 Bentley Bentayga Speed performance and refinement – 8/10
Feels strong and surprisingly aggressive, but not quite up there with the peak super SUVs.
| 2025 Bentley Bentayga Speed specs | |
|---|---|
| Engine | Twin-turbocharged V8 |
| Displacement | 3996cc |
| Power | 650hp |
| Torque | 850Nm |
| Gearbox | 8-speed automatic |
| Drive layout | Permanent all-wheel drive |
| 0-100kph (claimed) | 3.6 seconds |
| Top-Speed (claimed) | 310kph |
Yes, the venerable 6.0-litre W12 that Bentley introduced in 2003 is no more – it was simply too expensive and low-volume to keep upgrading for newer emissions norms. Bentley says customers have been very accepting of the 4.0-litre V8, including its PHEV versions, but for the Bentayga, it will be non-hybrid only. This not only saves over 200kg in an already heavy car, but wound up to 650hp and 850Nm in the Speed, it’s more powerful than the W12 ever was.
And it’s not just bigger turbos that have brought them to these figures. The V8 uses higher-flow fuel injectors, the compression ratio has been lowered and lag is said to be reduced too thanks to greater turbo control. The throttle map has been made more responsive, and the gearshifts quickened, and there’s also launch control for the very first time.
Venerable W12 has made way for a non-hybrid, 650hp 4.0-litre V8 engine.
The result is 0-100kph in 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 310kph, making this the quickest and fastest Bentayga ever, and Bentley says all this comes into play only in Sport mode; Comfort and ‘Bentley’ mode remain as refined as they ever were.
What can’t be put into numbers is the effect of the new sports exhaust has. By default, the Speed gets a steel sports exhaust different to the rest of the range, but as an option, there is a titanium Akrapovic option that saves 12.5kg. It also sounds utterly wild, especially from the outside; almost unbecoming of a car with the Flying B on its nose. Inside, they’ve chosen not to enhance the sound through the speakers, so though a little muted by all that sound insulation, what you hear is real.
Acceleration is forceful in Sport mode, backed by a raucous roar from the titanium pipes.
Performance is every bit as strong as you’d expect, with launch control in particular feeling almost comically aggressive in a luxurious barge such as this. And, as Bentley said, there is a huge difference between Sport and the lesser modes. Acceleration is forceful, backed by a raucous roar from the titanium pipes, and when you’re ready to rein it in, those massive brakes haul you back down with ease.
It’s, of course, not as strong as some of its PHEV rivals like the Cayenne Turbo S e-hybrid or Lamborghini Urus SE, or even its stablemate, the new Continental GT Speedbut they’ve managed to deliver an eagerness and potency far greater than any previous Bentayga has delivered.
2025 Bentley Bentayga Speed mileage and efficiency – 6/10
The kind of efficiency you’d expect from an ultra-luxury performance SUV.
Standard Bentayga V8 has a WLTP-rated fuel efficiency of 7.5kpl.
Of course, mileage in a 2.5-tonne twin-turbo V8 SUV is not going to wow you, and at no point on our test drive did we even look at the figure. As the product is brand new, Bentley has yet to reveal an official fuel economy figure for it. However, for reference the WLTP rating of the standard V8 variant is 7.5kpl, while the Speed’s W12-powered predecessor was rated at 6.99kpl. If you are after reasonable running costs, however, there is the V6 hybrid version of the Bentayga, rated at a solid 33.33kpl on the WLTP cycle.
2025 Bentley Bentayga Speed ride comfort and handling – 9/10
Deftly hops between limousine plush and razor sharp at the flick of a switch.
More impressive than even the performance of the Bentayga Speed is its dual dynamic nature. Here too, there have been several key tweaks. Rear-wheel steering and active anti-roll bars are standard, as is a limited slip differential. The suspension tune is 15 percent stiffer overall than the base Bentayga, and as mentioned before, silicone carbide brakes and 23-inch wheels (with Pirelli P Zero rubber) are optional. The torque vectoring system has been tuned to be far more aggressive, while the ESC system has been slackened to allow for far more slip.
It feels remarkably light on its feet for a car of its size and weight.
The results of these tweaks are easy to see, as they imbue the big Bentley with an agility never seen before. It feels remarkably light on its feet for a car of its size and weight, and more akin to its sportier VW Group counterparts – the Urus and the Cayenne. It’s far more eager to turn in, and it now has a greater affinity for oversteer. This was made even clearer on the dirt track that Bentley had laid out for us, across which the large SUV bounded gleefully like a bucking bronco, kicking its tail out at every opportunity.
On a dirt track, it was eager to kick its tail out at every oppurtunity.
Even on the tarmac though, you can feel the active roll-suppression system working overtime to keep the Bentayga level, as the rear-axle steering cuts the turning radius down to hatchback size. While luxury is what most of us associate Bentley with, the Speed wants to remind you that the brand has a history of sport too. That’s not to say it doesn’t feel plush; on the contrary, its air suspension manages the difficult task of oscillating between comfort and sport, and it does it seamlessly. You do feel the 23-inch wheels over bumps, though.
2025 Bentley Bentayga Speed price and verdict – 7/10
Bentayga’s newfound naughty side elevates it above the rest of the range.
We’ll admit Bentley’s decision for the Bentayga Speed to forego the potent new 780hp PHEV powertrain its two-door Continental GT stablemate had recently received left us a little confused. After all, the ultra-high-end performance luxury SUV, where a few 100 kilograms could easily be added or removed without anyone noticing, seems ideally suited to such a powertrain. And the Speed models have always been about excess, so why not give this Bentayga the most excessive powertrain?
Foregoing the 780hp PHEV V8 gives the Speed a purer, more engaging experience.
Bentley says that it wanted to go deeper into sports SUV territory, following customer feedback that cried out for a purer, more engaging experience. To that end, they’ve succeeded, and have also cleverly filled a void in the market vacated by VW Group’s own Lamborghini Urus. With the Urus having moved up into ludicrous 800hp PHEV hyper-SUV territory, Bentley’s decision not to follow it and instead fill the void might just be a masterstroke.
Perhaps this should have been the new ‘Bentayga S’ which, fun fact, has been phased out by the Speed, since the two would have been too similar in proposition. While we do not have the Bentayga Speed India price just yet, expect it to be well north of Rs 5 crore (ex-showroom, before options). It sounds ludicrous to think of such vehicles in terms of segments and rivals, but the Aston Martin DBX 707 does come to mind, an SUV which seems like it might be a tad more engaging, but not quite as plush and cossetting as the Bentley.
Bentayga Speed India price can be expected to be well north of Rs 5 crore (ex-showroom).
The Bentayga, and indeed Bentley as a brand, has always been about the delicate confluence of luxury and sport, and should you have forgotten its storied and spirited motorsport history in recent times, the Speed’s slightly wilder approach is here to remind you of just that.
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