Bentley introduces a new wheel for the Bentayga. The weight saving is manageable - but the carbon rim still breaks records.
Mulliner, Bentley's customization department, presents a new wheel design for the Bentayga. Under normal circumstances this would be little more than a side note were it not a record rim. Because the British claim that it is the world's largest carbon wheel. Which seems entirely plausible, since up until now it has mainly been sports cars that have been fitted with round parts made from the lightweight carbon fiber material. It is particularly useful here to optimize the driving dynamics by reducing the unsprung masses.
With a 2.4-ton truck, on the other hand, the effect should largely fizzle out. Despite this, Bentley and manufacturing partner Bucci Composites have invested five years in developing the carbon wheels for the Bentayga. With the result that compared to standard aluminum rims, the weight saving per wheel is six kilograms - the SUV thus saves one percent of its unladen mass. In addition, there are the well-known advantages in terms of strength and rigidity.
All TÜV tests passed
Bentley is particularly proud of the fact that the carbon rim passed all the strict TÜV tests. According to the British, this showed a safety advantage compared to an aluminum rim: While these can break in a crash and cause a tire to burst, this wheel is supposed to ensure slow deflating of the tire thanks to the intelligent layering of its fiber mesh. This should allow the driver to bring the Bentayga to a standstill safely.
After years of development, the carbon rim for the Bentley Bentayga should be available towards the end of 2021 - at a currently unknown price. In view of the long development phase and a new, very complex production process, the price for a complete wheel set should be in the five-digit range.
Conclusion
The progress in driving dynamics due to the carbon rims should be manageable given the high total mass of the Bentley Bentayga. First and foremost it should be about the gain in prestige that such a record bike brings with it in your own range of products.
