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Can anyone tell me - what's the point of this monstrosity?
David Jenkins - 10/3/12 at 10:09 AM



It's the latest Bentley, if you haven't worked it out.

A big, ugly, pointless thing...

imp paul - 10/3/12 at 10:12 AM

Odear its a ship or is it a crock of sh** lol haha

Andi - 10/3/12 at 10:17 AM

Yeeeuuw!

Reminds me of

Imp

wilkingj - 10/3/12 at 10:30 AM

Looks like it had a Yank Designer... Shades of the Chrysler cofin shaped thing!!

Sorry dont like it either.

David Jenkins - 10/3/12 at 10:34 AM

Definitely designed for the Yank market... and footballers...

Sad, as Bentley made its name in sporty big saloons - doesn't really fit in with their Le Mans image. does it.

Here's the quote from the site where I first saw it...

quote:

As subtle as fitting a set of spoilers and alloy wheels to Blenheim Palace, the EX P 9 will not only be Bentley’s first SUV but also its first hybrid. Initial versions - sorry, folks, but the head of Bentley has confirmed this monster will make it into production in 2015 - will have a 6.0-litre, 12-cylinder engine but there will also be a six-cylinder plug-in hybrid. Based on the same platform as the next Audi Q7 and VW Touareg, I suspect the EX P 9 will have Bentley traditionalists running for the hills in horror, but it should go down a storm with footballers and their wives.

britishtrident - 10/3/12 at 10:37 AM

It used to be quite a tradition in the country set to get the local coach builders to convert perfectly good pre-war Rolls-Royces into very ugly shooting brakes to carry the guns and chairs hampers needed to kill innocent wild life.

The Bentley hasn't even the room to do this like most upmarket 4x4 it is completely and utterly pointless.

[Edited on 10/3/12 by britishtrident]

MikeCapon - 10/3/12 at 10:59 AM

OK not the same model but...


ali f27 - 10/3/12 at 11:00 AM

it,s called yousing the brand image before they are finished they will have all manner of bentlys look at the bmw mini

scootz - 10/3/12 at 11:24 AM

That's a very 'unfortunate' looking photo of it... it looks much better in others!

Good luck to them!

wylliezx9r - 10/3/12 at 11:32 AM

What a heap of shite, if it had a kia badge on it or something everybody would be saying how bad it is...........and those wheels are more suited to a pram

David Jenkins - 10/3/12 at 12:14 PM

quote:
Originally posted by scootz
That's a very 'unfortunate' looking photo of it... it looks much better in others!

Good luck to them!


It's still an overweight 4x4 tarted-up van that simply won't fit in UK country roads - or in Chelsea, where many of them will end up. It's in the same group as those lardy Volvo and BMW 4x4s - too big on the road, useless on rough ground - in other words - a waste of space.

As said above - they're just milking the Bentley name as much as they can.

scootz - 10/3/12 at 12:44 PM

If Bentley have identified a market for them, then they'll build them and they'll sell them.

I doubt very much that they are even remotely concerned that you think the car is a waste of space.

britishtrident - 10/3/12 at 12:45 PM

If the original 1970 Range Rover was introduced today it would be heralded as ground breaking and sell like hot cakes, a practical 4x4 that works off road you can actually carry stuff in !

Alfa145 - 10/3/12 at 12:47 PM

Obviously designed for the overpaid poncy footballers of the permiership to take their little kids on the school run

Neville Jones - 10/3/12 at 12:50 PM

quote:
Originally posted by ali f27
it,s called yousing the brand image before they are finished they will have all manner of bentlys look at the bmw mini


I'd forgotten just how big the BMW(not so) Mini is, until I saw one parked beside a classic Austin Mini at the supermarket. That BMW thing is HUGE!. Humongously bigger in every direction.

Cheers,
Nev.

scootz - 10/3/12 at 12:57 PM

quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
If the original 1970 Range Rover was introduced today it would be heralded as ground breaking and sell like hot cakes, a practical 4x4 that works off road you can actually carry stuff in !



Nonsense!

Are you telling me that no-one would notice the awful build quality, the horrendous ride, the terrible steering, the rubbish brakes or the asthmatic engines of the 1970's RR?

Come on folks! (Most) car companies are perfectly capable of building a vehicle that will do whatever you think cars should do.

MikeRJ - 10/3/12 at 12:58 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Neville Jones
quote:
Originally posted by ali f27
it,s called yousing the brand image before they are finished they will have all manner of bentlys look at the bmw mini


I'd forgotten just how big the BMW(not so) Mini is, until I saw one parked beside a classic Austin Mini at the supermarket. That BMW thing is HUGE!. Humongously bigger in every direction.

Cheers,
Nev.


And yet rear leg room is no better and rear boot space is very probably worse than the classic. Safety and refinement are probably the only two major improvements after 50 odd years (and the Coopers S models go pretty well).

Simon - 10/3/12 at 01:11 PM

Unfortunately for most of us, people with (new, footballers/x-factor/readers of OK/hello etc) money tend to have no class or style and will buy whatever has the biggest price tag for bragging rights irrespective of how ugly something may be.

That Bentley proves that they could make anything they like and tastelless rich people will buy it.

ATB

Simon

designer - 10/3/12 at 01:15 PM

I see worse looking cars on the road everyday, even here!!

matt_gsxr - 10/3/12 at 01:41 PM

I guess that is what you get when VW accountants design cars.

Hector.Brocklebank - 10/3/12 at 02:41 PM

quote:
Originally posted by wylliezx9r
What a heap of shite, if it had a kia badge on it or something everybody would be saying how bad it is


Kia is slowly & quietly becoming a force that might need to be reckoned with, and in many customer satisfaction surveys their products are trumping the more established car makers.....


PSpirine - 10/3/12 at 02:50 PM

Unless they radically change the look of it by the time it hits the showrooms, Land Rover's future is safe! We had a right good laugh at the office when watching the Bentley reveal.

Money can't buy you taste and all that..


It's a shame too, since the Mulsanne has a very impressive presence and look about it. Mind you, this one looks promising on the inside!



This thing will sell, as there is a market for it, and the UK is nowhere near the top of the priority list! But I doubt anybody will herald this as a good car.


23" wheels FML.

RK - 10/3/12 at 04:30 PM

Same idea as the Q7 Audi and the like. Not for me, but keeps the car builders employed. I want to just shoot a big bazooka at them when I see them. And there are LOTS where I live.

One factor with these pieces of crap: most women I know want to sit up high, giving them a feeling of control over the big bad world out there. My SWMBO on the other hand, has a Mini with the seat all the way down... and she is not called SWMBO for nothing, I might add.

UncleFista - 10/3/12 at 04:44 PM

I reckon that's what Bentley's focus groups came up with to please the Chinese market.
A very large percentage of luxury car maker's market is China, and it will probably do well on their road system.

JoelP - 10/3/12 at 06:28 PM

If you accept that there is a market for these big luxury motors, then i cant see the problem. The bentley 'face' looks a lot better than the range rovers and cayennes, and miles ahead of the awful Q7.

Liam - 10/3/12 at 06:54 PM

Will go down a treat in Dubai and places like that. And Chelsea.

David Jenkins - 10/3/12 at 07:27 PM

quote:
Originally posted by scootz
I doubt very much that they are even remotely concerned that you think the car is a waste of space.


As if I care...

morcus - 11/3/12 at 07:41 AM

I'm not a fan, but I think with a some subtle tweeking it would look better. Stick some regular wheels on it for a start.

People will buy it. I don't know anything about how Bentley is structured but it's nominally British and I'm under the impression they build the cars here so maybe some of the money from these will come back to the UK and give some jobs and some tax money to us as a nation.

To be honest, it's not nearly as offensive an idea to me as the examples of this kind of thing from Sports car brands as a 4x4 estate isn't as much a world away from a huge bentley barge as it is from what a Porsche, Alfa or Maseratti should be when it comes to selling out your brand.

scootz - 11/3/12 at 10:24 AM

quote:
Originally posted by David Jenkins
quote:
Originally posted by scootz
I doubt very much that they are even remotely concerned that you think the car is a waste of space.


As if I care...


As if they care...

MikeRJ - 12/3/12 at 08:18 AM

quote:
Originally posted by UncleFista
I reckon that's what Bentley's focus groups came up with to please the Chinese market.
A very large percentage of luxury car maker's market is China, and it will probably do well on their road system.


I'm surprised at that - the import tax on non-domestically manufactured cars in China is absolutely horrendous, and I've seen very few on the roads out there. Unless of course Bentely are going to licence the design to China, as many other manufacturers have.

[Edited on 12/3/12 by MikeRJ]

David Jenkins - 12/3/12 at 08:32 AM

quote:
Originally posted by scootz
quote:
Originally posted by David Jenkins
quote:
Originally posted by scootz
I doubt very much that they are even remotely concerned that you think the car is a waste of space.


As if I care...


As if they care...




UncleFista - 12/3/12 at 05:54 PM

I've just found facts to back up my assuption ! (as long as you believe Pistonheads)

"Even more tempting than Europe for makers is China, where last year 1.59 million SUVs were bought. Back in 2006 there were just 370,000 sold over there. So important is China for Bentley that in the first two months of this year, just over a third of all its cars were sold there"



quote:
Originally posted by MikeRJ
quote:
Originally posted by UncleFista
I reckon that's what Bentley's focus groups came up with to please the Chinese market.
A very large percentage of luxury car maker's market is China, and it will probably do well on their road system.


I'm surprised at that - the import tax on non-domestically manufactured cars in China is absolutely horrendous, and I've seen very few on the roads out there. Unless of course Bentely are going to licence the design to China, as many other manufacturers have.

[Edited on 12/3/12 by MikeRJ]

nick205 - 12/3/12 at 10:17 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Hector.Brocklebank
quote:
Originally posted by wylliezx9r
What a heap of shite, if it had a kia badge on it or something everybody would be saying how bad it is


Kia is slowly & quietly becoming a force that might need to be reckoned with, and in many customer satisfaction surveys their products are trumping the more established car makers.....





I'd go with that, they're getting better at it very quickly IMHO.

Peteff - 13/3/12 at 09:56 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Alfa145
Obviously designed for the overpaid poncy footballers of the permiership to take their little kids on the school run


I think it's more aimed at the newly emerging economies like China and India where there are people finding they have money for the better things in life and not much taste.