Bentley Bentayga S Black Edition SUV aims to combine a lot of luxury with a little sportiness

At almost 2.5 tonnes, the Bentley Bentayga might not sound like the ideal recipe for a dynamic performance car but that is exactly what Bentley set out to achieve with the Bentayga S. Now there’s a version that’ll visually match the “confidence-inspiring chassis technology” of the S called the Bentley Bentayga S Black Edition. 

Bentley calls the Bentayga S Black Edition its most “visually striking SUV to date” and it utilises black-tinted wings on the famous Bentley ‘flying B’ badge for the first time in 105 years. It might be called the Black Edition, but it's also available in seven different colours; Mandarin, Signal Yellow, Klein Blue, Pillar Box Red, Ice, Hyper Green, and Beluga. 

There are bespoke yellow exterior accents found on the front bumper, side sills, rear spoiler and brake calipers to enhance the exterior look. Like on the standard Bentayga S, there’s also a body kit and all exterior chrome is replaced with gloss black. The 22-inch wheels are finished in black, the headlights are tinted and on the rear pillar there’s a unique ‘Black Edition’ badge. 

Inside the Bentayga S Black Edition there’s further yellow detailing on the seats, dash and doors and an embroidered black ‘S’ emblem can be found on the seats. The centre console and dash features a new carbon fibre weave with a 3D effect. More gloss black replaces the usual chrome details on the air vents and various bits of trim around the cabin. 

No less than three sound system options are offered with the Black Edition. There’s the Bentley Signature Audio system, a Bang & Olufsen or the ultimate Naim for Bentley stereo upgrade. 

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The Black Edition has the same selection of powertrains as the Bentayga S, which means either a 4.0-litre, turbocharged V8 or a plug-in hybrid 3.0-litre V6. Performance for the V8 is unchanged with 542bhp and 770Nm of torque allowing for a 4.4-second 0-60mph time and 180mph top speed. The 456bhp V6 PHEV completes the 0-62mph sprint in 5.3 seconds and tops out at 158mph. 

Earlier this year the Bentayga Extended Wheelbase added rear-wheel steering to the Bentayga range and now this system has become standard on the Azure and S - but only for the V8-powered versions. Bentley says it increases handling and manoeuvrability by reducing the turning circle by nearly one metre with up to 4.8 degrees of steering lock on the rear. 

The Bentayga S was the first car to utilise electric active roll control technology and this system features on the Black Edition. It can react to cornering inputs within 0.3 seconds, deploying up to 1,300Nm of torque from the 48V system to control body roll. There’s also a Sport driving mode which tweaks the steering and air suspension damping, plus a recalibration of Bentley’s torque vectoring system.

Pricing for the Black Edition hasn’t been revealed although it’s likely to sit comfortably above the £180,000 Bentayga S at around the £200,000 mark.

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