As to be expected, much speculation surrounds the premium motoring exhibition, due to open its doors on 8th March at the Palexpo in Switzerland’s famous francophone city. World motor marques take this annual opportunity to premiere their concept cars and forthcoming releases at Geneva, considered by many to be the pinnacle of motor shows. With anticipation of such exciting forthcoming motoring news, it is no surprise that the car-loving fraternity starts to guess at just which marques will unveil new cars, both idealised and actual, and in what form these might appear. Grasping at straws as to what may appear, some interesting ideas take shape.
One potential debutante that could see the light of day at the 82nd Geneva Motor Show is the Bentley 4×4. The murmurs around such a vehicle are increasing in volume and it is quite possible that such smoke could be alluding to a fiery new all-road vehicle.
Bentley themselves are being customarily tight-lipped about any newcomers being released at the show, including a sports utility vehicle. Bentley president and CEO Christophe Georges has said only that they are ‘exploring the potential, but the vehicle has not been approved’. However as the opening of the Geneva Motor Show inches closer, the rumours are gathering momentum. The latest one is that the Bentley engineers are busy in development of a working concept of this enigmatic vehicle that will be ready for March.
Hints are that the vehicle will have ‘legitimate off-road capabilities’. If the gossip is true that the 4×4 will be based on the Audi Q7 platform, then this is easy to believe. The addition of a turbocharged W12 engine under the bonnet will certainly add extra pulling power. Whilst speculators have produced rendered images of a likely 4×4 concept, the Show could lift the curtain on a very illustrious silhouette indeed.
The Salon des Autos is also very likely to be the sort of place where we can expect an announcement that the decision to transform this supposed concept car into an approved production run could be made. The space is definitely worth watching and Signature staff will be hot footing it over to geneva to be the first to find out!