A few days ago we brought you this story of VW’s first all-electric racecar that will compete in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb later this week.

Well, it seems VW isn’t the only member of the family that will be tackling the famous event in the US. Enter a very special Bentley Bentayga.

Although Bentley has a proud racing heritage, this is the very first time the English brand will participate in the world-famous event.

Getting race ready

For the last six months a team has been preparing a race-ready Bentley Bentayga to take on the 96th running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

To attempt setting a new outright production SUV record Bentley Motorsport has enlisted the services of two-time overall Pikes Peak champion Rhys Millen. Millen will have to average 96 km/h over the 19,99 km course, which features 156 corners and a 1 439-metre climb.

Plenty to work with

The Bentayga has over 440 kW from its W12 turbocharged engine and an adaptive air suspension with electric active anti-roll control, making it an ideal candidate to challenge for the SUV record.

Minimal changes have been made to the car to comply with the production class rules. A roll cage, fire suppression system and racing seat, plus new Pirelli tyres are the main changes. Around 300 kg of interior trim has been temporarily removed, but in all other respects the Bentayga is standard.

Bentley’s Director of Motorsport, Brian Gush, comments:

“Our preparation for the event has been extremely thorough, and our Bentley Motorsport race engineers have produced a car that demonstrates the Bentayga’s inherent potential to the full. It’s now up to Rhys to drive the best run possible – but after his performances in testing, we have every confidence in him. The weather is the one factor we can’t control so we’re hoping for a clear Sunday morning.”

Driver Rhys Millen comments:

“We’ve honed the Bentayga’s incredible abilities and ensured we have a car for Pikes Peak that’s both safe and fast through two very productive test sessions with the Bentley Motorsport team. The course is one you can only attack with a car that can gain and lose speed very quickly, because it’s so tight and twisty. The combination of 441 kW/900 N.m and carbon ceramic brakes means that the Bentayga can accelerate and decelerate incredibly hard – and that’s what I’ll be counting on for my run. I can’t wait to get started at the mountain later this week.”