Bentley’s history is filled with racing, but the Bentley Bentayga X Concept takes the British automaker to a new kind of track: the FAT Ice Race in Zell am See, Austria.
FAT International started off as a logistics company that transported fashion in Europe and sponsored motorsports to promote its express delivery service. It was quick on a racecourse, too: FAT claimed an overall victory at the 1994 24 Hours of Le Mans with a Dauer 962 LM. These days, FAT International “produces clothing and connects people at offline experiences like the FAT Ice Race and FAT Mankei while its mission is to change motorsports forever starting at the grass roots: with the FAT Karting League.” FAT’s Ice Race is a celebration of exotic cars and their cultural significance as well as a multi-class race. Most recently, FAT started a multi-year collaboration with Bentley, which led to the debut of the Bentayga X Concept.
Based on a Bentayga Speed, the X can blast across the ice thanks to its 641-horsepower 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 – and blast out its sound through an Akrapovic titanium exhaust system. Permanent four-wheel drive and an air suspension with a 48-volt active anti-roll setup makes sure that that supercar output is controlled and delivered precisely.
Of course, racing in such an extreme environment calls for some upgrades, so Bentley widened the track by 4.7 inches (120 millimeters) to increase the X’s stability and pushed the wheel arches out 1.6 inches to accommodate the change and the new Brixton forged one-piece 22-inch wheels and off-road tires. To keep the X from turning into a snow plow, Bentley raised its ride height by approximately 2.2 inches (55 millimeters), giving it nearly 12.2 inches (310 millimeters) of ground clearance and a wading depth of more than 21.6 inches (550 millimeters – perhaps if the track’s ice starts to melt underneath?).
A roof rack hauls gear (if you look closely, you’ll see a Bambino-size Go Kart used in the FAT Karting League) and serves as the platform for a quartet of auxiliary lights.
Given how wildly different the X Concept looks from regular Bentaygas, it’s logical to assume that it’s just a one-off for its deal with FAT, but it might lead to something more. And that doesn’t mean wishful thinking that Bentley may make a production version of the X or something like it. Bentley came out and said, “This unique Bentayga X Concept has been developed to stimulate and gain feedback for an enhanced off-road capable Bentayga.” Is there more than a snowball’s chance in Hell of that happening? We’ll have to wait to see.
