Styling
Any 2026MY Bentayga Speed will cut a dash, complete with dark-tinted details and headlight clusters, 22-inch alloy wheels and the discreet 'Speed' emblems down on the leading edges of the doors. But our test car had a number of (pricey) options on it to enhance the kerb appeal of this exotic SUV yet further.
First of all, it was painted in glorious Barnato Green, at a cost of £6,820. Then the £12,680 Bentley Styling Specification with Accent was added - this bringing a front-bumper splitter, side sills and tailgate spoiler all rendered in carbon fibre, with S-style front and rear bumpers and a Signal Yellow pinstripe to set it all off. Then another £10,370 went on the Dynamic Specification, equipping carbon-ceramic brakes with yellow callipers and over-laying those with the first 23-inch Speed wheels on any Bentley yet to make production, here finished in Grey Satin.
Finally, the Bentayga Blackline Specification (£5,920), plus a black roof and roof rails (£2,860) were selected as options, with the resulting confection being the most eye-catching and, let's face it, deeply desirable Bentayga we've seen yet. Marvellous stuff all round.
Interior
If our particular Benyaga Speed's exterior was tastefully subdued, the interior of V66 BML went quite the other way. We still adored it, though; Cumbrian Green leather was offset with the same Signal Yellow, as seen on the exterior pinstripe, for the accents inside the Bentley. That's a Mulliner Colour Specification (£2,550) combination, complemented by Open Pore Koa veneers (£2,405). There's a whole debate about whether traditional old wood trim really sits well when juxtaposed with a sporty, contrasting upholstery as in this Speed, but there's no faulting the majestic fit and finish of a Bentayga's passenger compartment these days. About our only complaint is that the SUV cannot have the superb Bentley Rotating Display of the Conti GT and
Flying Spur cars, which is a proper piece of automotive theatre. But, generally, no other complaints about the Speed's most splendid interior.
Practicality
There are various interior seating configurations for the Bentley Bentayga family, but this Speed had the Five Seat Comfort Specification (£6,565), bringing with it the most-versatile passenger arrangement you can get in the giant SUV. So specified, there's acres of room and sumptuous comfort levels in the second row, behind which is a boot measuring 484 litres. That's... not great, for a vehicle as vast on the outside as this, but it'll be more than enough volume for the expensively tailored luggage that most Bentayga owners will be slinging in the Bentley's cargo bay, no doubt.
Performance
The '26MY Bentley Bentayga Speed is powered by an enhanced version of the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 it has used in
previous applications. Only here, its outputs have been boosted by 100hp and 80Nm, to new peaks of 650hp and 850Nm accordingly. That actually makes it more powerful by 15hp than its W12-powered ancestor, although it's down on torque compared to the 6.0-litre unit to the tune of 50Nm.
But it's lighter, as a result of the 4.0-litre lump being a lot less heavy than the W12. Admittedly, this is all relatively speaking because, with a kerb weight of 2,466kg as tested, the 2026MY Speed is no featherweight. Yet it's more agile and undeniably quicker than the older version: 0-62mph here takes 3.6 seconds, rather than 3.9, and the top speed increases by 3mph to an elevated V-max of 193mph.
What matters more, though, is just what a sonic benefit the V8 has brought to the Bentayga Speed's party. We've long said Bentley's 4.0-litre engines are sweeter of voice than the iconic W12, but that acoustic gulf is at its widest in favour of the eight-cylinder here, thanks to the optional Akrapovic titanium sports exhaust (£7,740). With this fitted, the soundtrack on the Bentayga Speed is nothing short of phenomenal. It is spectacular all around the dial, mellifluous low-revs woofling and chuntering at more sedate speeds giving way to a terrific baritone roar and rumbling thuds from the pipes when the Bentley's throttle is opened wider. Short of that ridiculous one-off
Le Mans concept from BMW, which saw the S70/3 6.0-litre V12 from the 1999-winning BMW LMR competition vehicle shoehorned into an E53 X5, we can't off the tops of our heads think of any SUV that sounds better than this.
Predictably thirsty, though. You might see mid-20s consumption from it on a long, considered motorway run, but after 533 miles of mixed-roads driving across 12.5 hours at an average 42mph in it, the Speed's unadorned-by-hybrid-gear V8 had supped down Super Unleaded at a rate of 20.1mpg. We even saw 17mpg from it on one more spirited drive, although consistent hammer of the 4.0-litre's throttle would probably drop fuel economy into the dreaded realm of single digits.
Ride & Handling
In the two more genteel drive modes available to the Bentayga Speed, namely Comfort and Bentley, both its self-levelling air suspension and its Continuous Damping Control (CDC) shocks are calibrated in exactly the same way as any other SUV in the British firm's offering. However, in Sport mode, a number of changes have been enacted, in order to sharpen the Speed's driving experience.
Primarily, the stiffness of the CDC is increased by 15 per cent. This promotes greater steering feel, while the Speed's torque-vectoring by brake is said to enhance turn-in. There's also a more relaxed stability control program called ESC Sport, which'll allow for a degree of oversteer if you want it, while the ceramic brakes and the fitment of all-wheel steering on a Speed for the first time promote its greater agility, brought about by the smaller-displacement engine from the outset.
The dynamic results are tremendous. The Bentayga Speed has lost none of its utterly cultured and wonderful ride comfort nor rolling refinement, but when the mood takes you then this is easily one of the most chuckable big SUVs in the entire world. One of the highlights is the delicious steering, something for which Bentley has gone unheralded for in recent years; we've noticed other cars from the company have beautiful weighting and a wealth of feel at the helm too, so it's high time Crewe's engineers were recognised for their sterling work in this regard.
Beyond that, the SUV offers up crystal-clear communication from its chassis through the twin lines of the driver's wheel and the base of their seat that make forming a deep, lasting bond with the Bentayga Speed something of an inevitability. Honestly, this side of a
Porsche Cayenne, long the gold standard for SUV kinematics, the Bentley is right up there as one of the very finest creations of its type.
Value
It's preposterous to be talking about value on a Bentley. When the Bentayga Speed already costs £219,000 before options, you're clearly on about a product which costs as much as a decent house in many parts of the UK (keep quiet, Londoners!). And if you've been tallying up all the option prices we've listed in this piece so far, you'll know V66 BML wasn't actually £219,000, but in truth a whole heap more. In fact, on top of what we've already outlined, it also had a smashing £7,350 Naim Premium Audio for Bentley sound system (arguably the best in-car system in the entire business, this, so worth it) and the £6,035 Touring Specification too (a bundle with predictive and adaptive cruise control with lane guidance, a head-up display and also Night Vision incorporated). All told, an extra £71,295 of stuff was bolted onto the Speed, bringing its grand total worrying close to 300 grand - £290,295, to be exact. Ouch.
Verdict
Sure, at £290,000-plus, the Bentley Bentayga Speed is hardly what you'd call an affordable superstar. But with this new V8 powertrain and suitably tightened chassis, the British ultra-luxe SUV has reached its apogee. The 2026MY Speed is one of the outright greatest high-riding vehicles we've ever had the pleasure of experiencing; it really is that simple.
