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Autocar has obtained tantalising details of a secret Bentley off-roader powered by a 450bhp 6.0-litre W12 engine that, if put into production, could radically alter the status quo at the upper end of the four-wheel-drive market. Codenamed BY616, the luxurious offering is among a number of proposals put forward by parent company Volkswagen in recent months as a means of further expanding the Bentley marque against a backdrop of surging sales, renewed brand awareness and an expanding customer base.

The big new Bentley, depicted here in our exclusive computer-generated images, is derived from the forthcoming Audi Q7 – Ingolstadt’s answer to the BMW X5 and Mercedes-Benz M-class – due to be unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

However, like Bentley’s recent models, the BY616 has been conceived with a unique body and interior – the latter foregoing the Audi’s seven-seat layout for a more commodious five-seat arrangement.

Production of the proposed model had been rejected by Bentley boss Franz-Josef Paefgen in a boardroom debate last December, and a senior Bentley insider told Autocar that he was also strongly against the idea of a 4×4.

But there remains a strong lobby of support for the new car, and the Bentley boss could be overruled by the upper echelons of VW, which is keen to see the British car maker’s production volume rise above 10,000 annually in the long term. ‘At this level Bentley can be self-sustaining,’ said a high-ranking Wolfsburg insider. ‘With the existing range that is only possible for one or two years at best. We want to sustain it at this level indefinitely.’

Paefgen has had disagreements over 4x4s before. When boss of Audi, he refused to build an Audi version of the Touraeg/Cayenne project, commissioning the Allroad instead.

The idea behind the BY616 stems from the success of the Touareg Sport, which uses the W12 engine. Produced in a limited run of 500, the rapid four-wheel drive sold out within a month of its announcement last September, despite a price tag of £96,850, and 330 of them went to the Middle East alone.

The new Bentley has been conceived to sit at the very top of the Volkswagen Group’s four-wheel-drive hierarchy, above the Touareg and Audi Q7. And price estimates of £120,000 by industry analysts make it almost double the price of a Range Rover. With much of its mechanical package sourced from within the Volkswagen Group, analysts contend BY616 could generate profits on volumes of ‘slightly less than 2000 annually’ over a 10-year model cycle.

The big concern, of course, is the risk to Bentley’s blue-chip image, but Bentley’s customer base has changed dramatically in recent years, and there are signs that the majority of new Bentley owners may actually welcome such a move. ‘The average age of Continental GT buyers is below 50,’ says a Bentley US source, ‘Many don’t have any preconceptions of what a Bentley should be, except that it must make a bold visual statement.’ While a 4×4 may seem at odds with Bentley’s traditional image, the controversial Cayenne, for example, has become a successful and profitable part of the Porsche range.

The BY616 has been conceived around the same platform as the Audi Q7, itself a development of the structure underpinning the Touareg and Cayenne. Features include permanent four-wheel drive and air springs and, like the Q7, it does without a transfer case and low-ratio gearing.

Initial proposals call for a car stretching to over 5100mm long, nearly 2000mm wide and 1750mm high. Our images convey how the new car could look rather than providing any detailed clues to its appearance.

As with the Continental GT and Flying Spur, the BY616 has been conceived to use a 6.0-litre W12 engine. Unlike in its coupé and saloon siblings, however, the four-valve-per-cylinder unit is normally aspirated, with power dropping from 650bhp to 450bhp – as in the Touareg W12 Sport – while torque dips by 37lb ft to 442lb ft. Despite the drop and a probable kerbweight well above 2000kg, performance would be quite impressive if the Touareg’s 0-62mph time of 5.9sec is anything to go by.

There is also the possibility of endowing the BY616 with hybrid power, boosting the W12 with electric motors. Such a set-up is being readied for the Q7, according to Audi chairman Martin Winterkorn, which would make it easily adaptable for the Bentley.

Also being weighed up is a modified version of Audi’s new 4.2-litre V8 diesel, which is set to be unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show. In the upcoming Q7, it pushes out a stout 310bhp and 516lb ft.

Bentley has already eyed up Volkswagen’s under-utilised Dresden facility to boost its production capacity. Home to the slow selling Volkswagen Phaeton, the ultra-modern factory appears perfectly suited to Bentley’s requirements, especially as the 4×4 would use a different platform to the Conti GT and Flying Spur.

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