Road-car testing at the Nurburgring Nordschleife->ke999 is a habit that's more than a decade old, but not the same can be said about SUVs.->ke145 Until the more track-focused BMW X5 M and the Porsche Cayenne GTS arrived, the only SUVs you could see at the 'Ring belonged to drivers looking to have a few laughs. That's no longer the case though. For the last couple of years, the "Green Hell" has been swarming with utility vehicles. And I'm not talking about performance SUVs, but more plebeian family haulers from Honda,->ke34 Kia->ke41 or Volkswagen.->ke94 The Bentley Bentayga->ke5088 is the latest such vehicle to hit the German track and although it's about as powerful as the Cayenne Turbo, it's not exactly a sight to behold in the twisties.

I mean, it's definitely fast and the man behind the wheel is obviously pushing it to the limit, but I've seen better from SUVs that aren't as powerful and expensive as the Bentayga. And yes, Bentley was hoping to transfer some of the sporty skills of the Continental GT->ke3108 into its SUV. It doesn't really seem to work...

Someone better tell SUV manufacturers that these vehicles aren't supposed to become track-day performers.

Anyway, the Bentayga is only a few months away from making its global debut with at least two powerplants at its disposal. Word has it the Brits will launch it with a massive 6.0-liter W-12 and a 4.0-liter V-8. A diesel mill is likely to be added in a couple of years.

Bentley‬ ‪Bentayga‬

Find out more about the Bentley Bentayga in our speculative review here.