2022 Bentley Bentayga EWB

 When Bentley in 2016 launched the Bentayga, its first-ever SUV, the company's flagship vehicle was the Mulsanne sedan. Imposing and charismatic, the $300,000-plus Mulsanne was German-engineered but a quintessentially British ultra-luxury car. Its interior was redolent with the rich tang of leather, the warm glow of wood, bright splashes of chrome, and a rumbling torque monster of an engine under its long hood.

The last Mulsanne rolled off the assembly line in Crewe, England, in 2020. And stepping up to replace it as Bentley's new flagship model is the 2022 Bentley Bentayga EWB, a stretched version of the SUV that was just a gleam in a Bentley product planner's eye when the Mulsanne made its world debut at Pebble Beach in 2009.

A stretched SUV is, at first glance, an oddly prosaic choice for a marque steeped in the romance of the road and the legend of Le Mans. But it's a necessarily pragmatic one.

Bentley's decision to go all-electric by 2030, first discussed internally in 2018 and signed off by the VW Group in 2021, meant there was little point in developing a conventional Mulsanne replacement, particularly as demand for large luxury sedans has shrunk steadily in recent years. What's more, Bentley's research showed global demand for luxury SUVs was set to grow by 35 percent by the end of this decade.

Indeed, the Bentayga has been Bentley's bestselling model almost from its debut, and customers, particularly in the U.S. and China, have long asked for one with limo-like room in the rear. The extended-wheelbase Bentayga EWB was therefore a no-brainer; development work began on the SUV variant at the end of 2018.

The 2022 Bentley Bentayga EWB is basically a Bentayga V8 with an extra 7 inches spliced between the B-pillar and the rear axle, though Bentley says it's more than just a simple stretch job, having spent in excess of $100 million on designing and engineering more than 2,500 new parts. The Bentayga EWB benefits from a new floorpan and bodysides, new power-closing rear doors, and a new roof with a sunroof repositioned further rearward, though all other exterior panels are shared with the refreshed Bentayga launched in 2020.

Apart from the longer rear doors, the 2022 Bentley Bentayga EWB is distinguished by a new vertical-vane grille similar to the one found on the Flying Spur sedan, and unique 22-inch, 10-spoke wheels. Long-wheelbase sedans or SUVs invariably look more awkward than their standard-wheelbase counterparts, but the Bentayga EWB is the exception. Even though the B-pillar has not moved, which means the front doors look quite short, the EWB appears more gracefully proportioned than the dumpy standard-wheelbase Bentayga.