When it comes to sibling rivalries, it can get downright heated in the contest for victory. Case in point: the Bentley Bentayga Speed and the Lamborghini Urus. Both are produced by the Volkswagen Group, and both share a platform. When Bentley introduced the Bentayga back in 2016, it launched with a staggering top speed of 187 miles per hour, a record for SUVs. Lamborghini fired back via the 190-mph Urus, stealing the record. But now, Bentley’s is set to reclaim the throne with the 190-mph 2020 Bentayga Speed.
Photo: Courtesy of Bentley
If you’re reading this and thinking, “if the Urus and the Bentayga Speed both go 190, how is one actually faster?” that’s a very fair query. The answer lies in a technicality. Lamborghini’s quoted top speed for the Urus is 305 kilometers per hour, which translates to 189.5 mph. The Bentayga Speed’s quoted top speed is 306 km/h, which calculates to 190.1 mph. The devil’s in the details and that 0.6 mph would see the title revert back to Bentley. (Is this all a little silly? Absolutely, but every little bit of marketing helps.)
Photo: Courtesy of Bentley
The Bentayga Speed has some tweaks to help the hulking brute of a ute fly, including to the prodigious 6.0-liter W-12 powerplant which gets 26 extra horses, bringing it to 626-horsepower. The torque remains the same as the base model: 664 lb-ft. (The Urus boasts a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 that’s good for 641 horsepower and 627 lb-ft of yank.) The 0-60 sprint sees 0.2 seconds shaved off, dropping down to 3.9.
There’s a reimagined suspension and a new exhaust tune that gives a greater bark on the start up and on downshifts, plus some new 22-inch wheels, and a rear spoiler outside the Bentayga Speed, along with carbon-ceramic brakes that can withstand hotter temps, though an actual Bentayga Speed owner is unlikely to dip a toe onto a track where that would make a legitimate difference.
Photo: Courtesy of Bentley
While Bentley may be enjoying its time at the top of speed mountain, it won’t be long until a challenger creeps up and knocks the Bentayga Speed from its perch. Undoubtedly, Lamborghini is working on a beefier Urus, and Aston Martin and Ferrari are both developing super-utes. (McLaren, meanwhile, steadfastly denies it’ll ever offer an SUV.) Which begs the question: which SUV will join the 200 Club first?
