Bentley Bentayga enters upcoming Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado

The Bentley Bentayga is set to participate in the famous Pikes Peak International Hill Climb that is slated to take place on June 24th in Colorado.

The automaker’s motorsport department is currently working on improving the vehicle’s performance. For it to succeed, the 600 horsepower SUV will have to go through the 12.42-mile (19.98 kilometers) hill climb with a total of 156 corners, as fast as it can. In fact, it will have to be faster than all the other SUVs joining. Vehicles that will participate in Pikes Peak will have to climb 4,720 feet all the way to the finish line at the mountain’s summit of 14,115 feet.

Brian Gush, motorsport executive, said that since the Bentley Bentayga was released, the luxury SUV has set the benchmark for vehicles - thanks to the balance it has achieved in terms of bespoke British craftsmanship, performance, and grand touring ability.

The Bentayga’s closest competitor at the Pikes Peak would be the Volkswagen and their all electric AWD prototype that was developed by VW Motorsport. It was entered in the exhibition class, where some of its rivals will be a Dodge Viper and a 1949 Ford F1 pickup truck.

It will be the W12 version of the Bentley Bentayga that will go on this record-setting run. As for performance figures, it can deliver as much as 600 horsepower (608 PS) and 900 Newton metres (664 pound feet) of torque. In just 4.1 seconds, it can sprint from 0 to 62 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour), before heading on to its maximum speed of 187 miles per hour (301 kilometers per hour). This actually makes the Bentayga the quickest gasoline burning SUV that has been tested. This makes it as quick as a Porsche 911 Carrera 4, which is quite impressive for an SUV.

The all-wheel drive SUV uses an active anti roll system that controls its air suspension to effectively eliminate body roll when the vehicle is moving fast. The system has several modes including Comfort, Sport and Custom.

So far, what we know is that the Bentayga will be equipped with a roll cage, as well as other safety features required by regulations, but they promised for it to remain as close to its production specification as possible. Furthermore, it is too early to give out complete details yet, but as we come closer to the 2018 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, Bentley will definitely announce more details, including the name of the driver who will get behind the wheel of the Bentayga.