The 2016 Bentley Bentayga is no secret, but Bentley->ke15 has been doing a pretty good job of keeping the design and the details of the “world’s most powerful and luxurious SUV” under wraps as long as possible. But the latest round of spy shots show Bentley’s first-ever SUV->ke449 wearing very little in the way of camouflage, revealing a welcome departure from the goofy styling of the 2012 EXP 9 F Concept.

Up front, it seems that there is still some heavy cladding obscuring the front fascia, but other than that it’s easy to make out the shape of the headlights. The massive mesh grille and wide front fenders really give the Bentayga an imposing face. At the rear of the SUV, it is a little harder to make out the shape of the taillights, although many of the Bentayga’s intricate lines – including the signature rear haunches – are easily visible. The only other camouflage on this Bentayga covers the rear quarter-windows and the “Flying B” fender vents, which Bentley has already revealed in previous teaser images.

Despite its own body lines, it’s hard to miss the similarities between the Bentayga and the recently introduced 2016 Audi Q7, especially in the shape of the side windows and roofline. There are no shots of the interior yet, but these images do seem to indicate that the 2016 Bentley Bentayga will have a four-passenger seating arrangement.

Continue reading to learn more about the future Bentley Bentayga.

Why it matters

The minimal camouflage shows that the 2016 Bentayga is fairly close to production spec at this point, so it appears that the ultra-luxurious SUV is still going to be revealed as scheduled later this year before going on sale sometime in 2016. Beyond that, Bentley has yet to make any official announcements as to exactly when the Bentayga will debut or go on sale, but Frankfurt->ke235 would be a good guess for the SUV’s world debut.

2016 Bentley Bentayga - spy shots

The 2016 Bentley Bentayga will be the first of the many high-performance SUVs we expect to go on sale in coming years, and Bentley hopes to produce at least 3,000 of the SUVs per year. Details remain scarce, but Bentley has already confirmed that the Bentayga will launch with a “range of engines,” and that a plug-in hybrid powertrain will arrive a year later for the 2017 model year.