The global automotive industry is if anything, very interesting. Just recently Volkswagon, the parent company of the legendary Bentley brand, confirmed plans to build the much buzzed about concept simply referred to in the media as, the Bentley SUV. To be very honest, nothing about this proposed vehicle smacks of “utility,” and to say it is opulent is almost offensive. This new Bentley, soon to be called the Falcon, is like the Winter Palace on wheels with more refinements than tea with Her Majesty. Rumored to be powered by Bentley’s twin-turbo V8, it’s also assumed it will be made available with a massive W-12 engine for those needing north of 700 hp to get down their favorite green lane.
At nearly $300,000, these are vehicles for the very elite of the…well…very elite. So, who are these people? The majority are Americans with an embarrassingly large amount of cash at their fingertips. Last year Bentley sales in the States soared by 28% over the previous year. The second largest group of Bentley buyers are the Chinese. Last year Bentley sold more than 950 Bentleys in China, and that was just in the final quarter of 2013. All of this comes on the heels of Land Rover announcing their flagship Range Rover which clocks in at nearly $200,000. Dealers are already begging for more of those vehicles with supply nowhere near keeping up with demand.
What does this mean for the Expedition Portal overlander? Absolutely nothing. It means bubkes, nada, zippo. It means high ranking officials in the UK saw an opportunity to employ 1,000 workers within a 1.2 billion dollar facility making cars few of us will ever see on the road. My only take way is this: you can buy a lot of Cherokees with $300,000.
