The Bentley Bentayga EWB is already one of the most luxurious cars on the planet – but a new option for the prestigious vehicle aims to bring all the comfort, luxury and exclusivity of flying first class to the road.
Bentley has revealed a new option for the extended wheelbase, top-of-the-range SUV fittingly titled ‘Airline Seat Specification’, which purports to be the most advanced seat ever fitted to a car.
Not only does it boast 22 different ways to be adjusted, but it also features the world’s first seat surface sensing system for thermal comfort as well as a mind-blowing postural adjustment system. This is mental stuff that makes even the ritziest first-class flights look like economy in comparison.
The plush, hand-stitched seats can sense passenger temperature and surface humidity with an accuracy of 0.1°C every 25 milliseconds. The system can then determine whether to apply heat, ventilation or both simultaneously to keep the passenger at optimum thermal wellbeing, Bentley explains.
If that’s not crazy enough for you, the postural adjustment system will really do your head in. Developed in collaboration with a chiropractor, it can automatically make micro-adjustments to the passenger’s seating position and pressure points. By subtly changing the shape of the surfaces of the seat over time, no one area of the body endures pressure fatigue for an extended period – meaning the occupant is always comfortable.
Watch: how Bentley makes their new ‘Airline Seat Specification’ seats
Airline Seat Specification also adds further cushioning and backrest bolster adjustment, cushion extension, electric headrest height adjustment and a deployable footrest to the back of the front passenger seat. The rear seat passenger on this side of the car can also move the front passenger seat forwards via a “VIP mode” for even more legroom.
Bentley has confirmed that there’s already been a whopping 50% initial customer uptake for the Airline Seat Specification in the Bentayga EWB – demonstrating how novel and desirable such a unique and high-tech ride experience is.
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Don’t expect it to be cheap, however. Bentley hasn’t confirmed pricing for the spec in Australia, or indeed pricing for the Bentayga EWB. In Australia, the base Bentayga V8 is priced at $378,600 plus on-road costs, so expect the EWB to cost well north of $400,000 – and for it not to be joined by S ($450,200) and Speed ($514,200) versions, Carsales relates.
The Airline Seat Specification would easily cost a few thousand bones…
The Bentayga EWB, which has replaced the Mulsanne EWB at the top of Bentley’s range, is powered by a 4.0L twin-turbo petrol V8 that makes 404kW, does 0-100km/h in 4.6 seconds and has a top speed of 290km/h.
The Bentayga EWB is available for order in Australia in late 2022 with vehicles expected to arrive in 2023.
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