If you want Bentley's new Bentayga SUV, you'll need to get in line - now!
According to company Chairman Wolfgang Durheimer, prospective buyers may have to wait to get their hands on one. And they may have to wait a while.
"We are building 3,600 Bentaygas in the first year and there's more demand than that for the vehicle just in America," Durheimer told Business Insider.
Durheimer then gestured toward Michael Winkler, Bentley's new US boss.
"We will have to make some decisions about where the cars are headed that may not make Michael very happy," Durheimer said.
The Bentayga - named after a rock formation in the Canary Islands - will serve as a welcome addition to Bentley's lineup of exclusive sedans, coupes, and convertibles when it arrives in 2016.
In the US, full-size luxury SUV sales are up 16.3% this year. Luxury SUV stalwarts Range Rover, Escalade, and Navigator have seen sales jump a whopping 67.6%, 117.1%, and 84.2% respectively. Although Bentley's sport ute will likely live in a higher price bracket than then segment leaders, that doesn't seem to have discouraged future customers, if the robust demand that Durheimer alluded to is any indication.
In addition to Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, and Aston Martin have thrown their hats into the SUV ring. Ultimately, their offerings will form a new ultra-luxury SUV stratum, above the Range Rovers and Mercedes G-Wagons of the world.
