The Bentley Bentayga has been Stretch Armstronged

Missing the Bentley Mulsanne? Well, this is the car designed to hush your pining. It’s the Bentley Bentayga Extended Wheelbase, and it’s here to bring “a new focus on wellness” to the world of luxury cars. Yep, ‘wellness’ doesn’t just mean yoga, reduced screen time and the occasional duvet day. It can also mean an already un-small SUV swelling even further in size.

The wheelbase has grown by 180mm, and it’s all in the back doors, ensuring it entirely benefits rear-seat passengers. The result is a total length of 5,305mm – longer than a BMW X7 or Mercedes-Benz GLS, but still 200mm short of the old Mulsanne.

Bentley hasn’t just strung out its SUV like an oversized metal Stretch Armstrong toy, though. It’s also upped the quality of the seating for those perched in the back. The folks in Crewe have fitted something they’re calling an ‘Airline Seat’.

Which doesn’t mean standard sickbags, rather 22-way adjustment, a recline angle of up to 40 degrees and auto climate and posture control; sensors determine whether to heat or ventilate the seat (or even both at once) and whether to pulse any minor adjustments of the seat position to keep you comfortable. It’s safe to say Bentley’s Seat Naming Division probably doesn’t fly via the sort of airlines that loudly sell lottery tickets at half-hour intervals.

More interior space means even more room for personalisation, too, with ‘trillions’ of spec combinations promised. There are three different seating layouts to choose from, in fact, though none – interestingly – involve the seven-seat capability of smaller Bentaygas. This one is all about the luxe. Choose a pure four-seat layout rather than a ‘4+1’ or five-seater and you can fit a champagne fridge betwixt those eerily intelligent chairs. Maybe you’ll want sickbags after all.

New to the EWB are power-closing doors and heated rear armrests. But of course. And if you’re considering actually driving your Bentayga, you’ll be delighted to know that Bentley has finally given its SUV all-wheel steering to help circumnavigate its new length and cut driver stress – or should that be chauffeur stress – in urban areas. It actually gives the EWB a tighter turning circle than stock Bentaygas, while 48v anti-roll suspension tech also comes as standard here. The EWB launches with a 542bhp 4.0-litre V8 engine for a 180mph top speed and 4.6sec 0-62mph dash – basically the same as a regular V8 – though we’d expect other powertrains to follow.

While it appears simply a longer Bentayga, there are 2,500 new parts which called for 50 development mules and a ‘nine-figure sum’ for Bentley to bring the EWB to life. To the extent the company reckons this counts as a whole new model line.

And it’ll repay its development fee rather briskly. One third of Bentleys sold is currently a Bentayga, and 82 per cent of those are driven everyday. Which is actually quite startling when you consider how many other modes of transport a lot of their owners actually have to choose from. And if you’re not now totally bedevilled by stats and numbers, nearly half of all Bentaygas sold will now be an EWB.