A racing stripe on a Bentley? Isn’t that a bit like sticking a hoodie on a politician, or platform boots on a nun?
Nevertheless, it’s what Bentley has done with this Bentayga Apex Edition by Mulliner. Based on the Bentayga S, only 20 will ever be made and the company claims it’s the ‘most dynamic’ Bentayga ever.
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How so? It's nothing to do with the powertrain. It's still Bentley’s 4.0-liter twin turbo V8 and it still churns out 542hp and 770Nm of torque. 0-100kph still takes 4.5 seconds; top speed is still 290kph.
Nah, it’s because of the serious weight saving that’s occurred with the wheels and brakes: 22in carbon wheels developed with Bucci Composites save 24kg, while carbon-ceramic brakes get rid of another 20kg over the usual iron discs.
The removal of all that unsprung mass makes the Apex Edition more nimble, so says Bentley, and the brakes are able to withstand temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees celsius. Because you’re definitely gonna rag one of these around a track.
As well as a carbon body kit, Mulliner has provided six themes - think of them as configurator presets - that use all manner of hides, and stitching, and satin, and veneer, and pinstriping, and… you get the gist.
There is one combo of Verdant green and Moonbeam Le Mans racing stripe that’s out of bounds however, save for existing owners of Continental GT and GTC Le Mans Edition cars, which were kitted out as so. Heaven forbid your fleet of Bentleys should clash.
Come on then, if you were given free reign over the Bentayga, what would you do with it?
Note: This story first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
