Fancy Pants SUVs

[Cee-Jay]

In The SUV: Scourge or Savior? - The Road Ahead, Road & Track's Matt DeLorenzo asserts that a number of new ultra luxury SUVs are on the way. One reason, he argues, is that manufacturers of gas guzzling high end vehicles like Bentley or Lamborghini can use SUVs to reduce their carbon footprints. Of course, it also helps that luxury SUVs by Rover and Porsche continue to sell well, suggesting that the market may be robust enough to support additional entries. The article includes some pics and video of the new Bentley.

Sooo, who's going to start a build thread on their new Bentley?

PS: I debated posting this in Fireside Chat instead of here... my apologies in advance if this is judged to be in the wrong forum.

[BlueBomber]

Don't forget the BMW X5 which has been around since 1999, or the Mercedes M class which started in 1997. They may not be super lux like the Bentley, but they still look pretty nice.

[Containerized]

What I've never understood is the lack of high-end wagons, like the Bentley Arnage Shooting Brake or the Audi Avantissimo (both of which were prototyped but not built).

A friend in London has an older Bentley Shooting Brake and I think there's definitely room for a high-end, country house type of wagon that could handle some light off-roading (perhaps air suspension like the Audi allroad quattro) and something big enough (Audi A8 sized) to take friends out to the horses on the weekends, etc.

Seems an entry like this, done right, could certainly compete with the next Indian Range Rover...

[haven]

There are more people with more disposable income today than ever before. The Wall Street Journal says there are 40,000 North Americans with $30 million or more. And we all know how much USA loves SUVs. So there certainly is a market for SUVs that cost more than $100K.

In USA for 2012, only three production SUVs cost more than $100K: the Cayenne Turbo, the Range Rover, and the Mercedes G-Class.