2023 Bentley Bentayga EWB production begins

August 12: 2023 Bentley Bentayga EWB goes into production

The 2023 Bentley Bentayga EWB's production has started, with a new sign-off process coming into play for its hand-craftmanship.

According to the British carmaker, digital techniques deliver its softest ever quilting, and more than 10 hours is needed to curate the wood set for each individual car – 132 hours for the flagship to be handcrafted in total.

As of the last week production has been able to commence, as workers return to the Crewe factory following Europe's summer shutdown.

The model will make its UK public debut at the Southampton International Boat Show in September.

Bentley says more than half of customers have opted for the airline-style seats or diamond illumination in their orders, while 30 per cent have gone for colour options from the extended paint range, metal overlays in the veneer and open pore wood.

For more about the Bentayga EWB, read our original reveal story below.

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The story to here

May 10: 2022 Bentley Bentayga EWB revealed

It may have been designed and engineered by Germans, but the Bentley Mulsanne was a Bentley to its bootstraps.

It was a giant, imposing sedan with an interior of wood and leather and chrome, and a rumbling torque-monster of an engine under the bonnet that was capable of propelling the final Speed variant to the silly side of 300km/h. It was, rightly, Bentley’s flagship.

Was. The final Mulsanne rolled off the Bentley assembly line at Crewe in 2020. And stepping up to the flagship role is…a stretched version of the Bentayga SUV.

At first glance the Bentley Bentayga EWB doesn’t sound – or look – like a successor to the gloriously charismatic Mulsanne. But there’s method in Bentley’s madness.

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With Bentley planning to build nothing but electric vehicles by 2030, there seemed little point in developing a conventional Mulsanne replacement, especially as demand for large luxury sedans has been steadily shrinking. Meanwhile, Bentley’s research showed the market for luxury SUVs was expected to grow 35 per cent by the end of the decade.

The Bentayga has consistently been a best-seller for Bentley and customers, particularly in the US and China, have long been asking for one with limo-like room in the rear. Against this background, the Bentayga EWB is a supremely logical piece of product planning.

In simple terms, the Bentayga EWB is a Bentayga V8 with an extra 180 millimetres between the B-pillar and the rear axle. But it’s more than just a basic stretch job, insists Bentley.

Over $100 million has been spent on designing and engineering more than 2500 new parts for the car, including a new floorpan, bodysides, power-close rear doors, and a sunroof repositioned further rearwards.

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Why no W12 under the hood if this is meant to be the new flagship Bentley? “It’s a strategic decision,” says product line director Chris Cole. “We want to keep the W12 for the Bentayga Speed as the halo sports model. The EWB is meant to be a luxury vehicle, emphasising well-being and comfort.”

And it certainly does that. Bentley says the EWB’s rear passenger area has more room than the old Mulsanne, the Rolls-Royce Cullinan, and the Range Rover LWB.

Three different rear seat combinations are available – a three-passenger bench, two single seats separated by a fixed console, or a two-plus-one seater with a folding centre console. Despite the extra length, there’s no third row. Indeed, the load space behind the rear seats is no bigger than in the regular Bentayga.

The optional ‘Airline Seat’ available with the four-seat specification is the most advanced ever fitted to a car, says Bentley’s head of colour and trim, Maria Mulder.

The seat will automatically react to passenger body temperature and humidity to independently heat and cool different areas to ensure maximum comfort, and what Mulder calls a ‘postural adjustment’ system uses 177 pressure points across six zones to provide a slow, almost imperceptible three-hour massage.

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The EWB’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 punches out 404kW at 6000rpm and 770Nm of torque from 1960rpm to 4500rpm, just as it does in the standard wheelbase Bentayga V8.

Remarkably, despite all the extra metal, the EWB is a mere 100 kilograms heavier than the Bentagya V8, and so delivers near-identical performance, says Bentley. The 0-100km/h sprint takes 4.6 seconds, making the EWB just a tenth slower, while the 290km/h top speed is identical.

In terms of the chassis, the EWB’s biggest upgrade is the adoption of rear-wheel steering, the first time the technology has been available on Bentley’s SUV. This reduces the turning circle to 0.6 metres less than that of the regular Bentayga V8 – a useful selling point to the 74 per cent of buyers Bentley says drive their luxury SUVs in the city nearly every day.

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Long wheelbase sedans or SUVs invariably look more awkward than their standard wheelbase counterparts, but the EWB is the exception that proves the rule.

Even though the B-pillar has not moved, which means the front doors look quite short, the EWB appears more gracefully proportioned than the standard wheelbase Bentayga. Apart from the longer rear doors, the EWB is distinguished from other Bentaygas by a new vertical vane grille like that on the Flying Spur sedan, and unique 22-inch 10-spoke alloy wheels.

Inside, the spacious interior features new precision metal inlays, and unique asymmetric quilting on the leather, with an optional lighting package that shines through the holes in the leather trim on the doors in up to 30 different colours.

If a fully loaded EWB still isn’t luxurious enough for you, Bentley’s in-house bespoke coachbuilding shop Mulliner will be happy to build you one just the way you like it.

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Bentley says the EWB will account for about 45 per cent of global Bentayga sales, and shrugs off suggestions it will steal sales from the standard wheelbase model.

It’s hard to see how it won’t, however, especially in the US and China, both markets where consumers prefer long-wheelbase luxury sedans over their standard wheelbase counterparts. Indeed, Bentley insiders suggest the EWB could account for as much as 60 per cent of Bentayga sales in the US.

If the EWB does steal sales from the regular Bentayga, the truth is Bentley probably won’t mind too much. In Australia, the entry-level Bentayga V8 currently retails for about $380,000; the EWB is likely to be about 30 per cent more expensive. So, even if the EWB doesn’t increase the overall number of Bentaygas sold, it’s going to drop more dollars to Bentley’s bottom line.