SUV could gazump Bentley supercar

When Bentley revealed the stunning EXP10 Speed 6 supercar at the Geneva motor show in March, it said the coupe concept was entirely production feasible.

Now it says it could instead build a second all-new SUV to slot beneath its first off-road wagon, next year's Bentayga SUV.

According to an Autocar report, the British car-maker is choosing between a production version of the Speed 6 two-seater or an SUV 'one size smaller' than the Bentayga as the next addition to its model line-up.

"We can’t do both those cars at the same time, because Bentley is still a small company and our resources are very stretched," Bentley CEO Wolfgang Durheimer told Autocar.

"We are doing the studies for both those models and then we will decide on the fifth model," he said, adding that the company is currently conducting a global market research project to investigate the business case for each model.

"We have to see if we now need an SUV one size smaller than the new Bentayga."

A decision is not expected to be made until 2016 or 2017 and either model would be subject to Bentley's next wave of product investment, meaning neither would materialise before 2020.

At this stage it appears the Speed 6 has the inside running, following positive reaction to the Geneva concept and the fact it's based on the same MLB platform as Audi's new Q7 and its own Bentayga, which enters production late this year.

Durheimer said the Speed 6 – which could be joined by a convertible version -- would be sufficiently differentiated from Bentley's current sports flagship, the Continental GT 2+2 coupe.

"We have asked our customers and they have said about the Speed 6 ‘just build it!'. They see a big difference in the two models. Many have said they would take both of them," he said, adding that the proposed two-seat sports car would not put pressure on Bentley to make the next-generation Conti GT's cabin more spacious.

"There is often pressure to make more space inside for bigger passengers. But we are very clear the Flying Spur [sedan] is for that market. The next Continental stays the same."

If it makes production, the Speed 6 would likely be positioned above the most expensive Continental, the GT Speed coupe ($461,300) and convertible ($507,400), as a rival for the successor to Ferrari's near-$700K F12 Berlinetta.

The sub-Bentayga SUV, meantime, could be similar in size – but not price – to the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Mercedes-Benz GLC.

The Bentayga -- which could become the most expensive SUV available in Australia, where it's expected to boost Bentley sales by 50 per cent, when it arrives here next year — is a key part of Bentley's target of 18,000 global sales by 2018 – up from just over 11,000 last year.