GETTING a car’s name right can be paramount and Bentley hopes its new luxury SUV will scale the heights as the Bentayga.
It’s a difficult one for Bentley – a new name, and a new sector of the market. And names can be so critical to a car’s success – think of the inspired choice of Capri by Ford; or the brave decision to ditch the Escort nameplate for Focus. These have worked.
The Nissan Cedric? Hmm, better not go there…
So when Bentley boss Wolfgang Dürheimer offers this sort of explanation – that the name is inspired by nature. And that crowning the Northern Hemisphere is the dramatic beauty of the Taiga, the world’s largest transcontinental snowforest… To the south, the rugged peak of the Roque Bentayga in the subtropical Canary Islands draws attention from all directions and a challenging climb rewards with spectacular panoramic views of a rich and diverse landscape.
Well, you do struggle at this point not to laugh when the motor industry drops into this sort of whimsical nonsense.
Wolfgang doesn’t stop there, though: “Bentayga is a name that reflects what we know our SUV will do better than any other car in the world – combine the best automotive luxury with outstanding performance to take the Bentley experience to new environments.”
Well, let’s hope so.
When the EXP 9 F Concept first appeared, pictured above, at the Geneva Motor Show the only new environment it experienced was one of derision and criticism. You can read my Business Car Manager colleague’s reaction in his blog from Geneva that year, Crouching elk, not so hidden dragon – Geneva Motor Show.
The new Bentley Bentayga will be revealed later in 2015, and on sale in 2016. I hope it is a success for Bentley. But this naming justification stuff really does them no favours.
