New Delhi, April 22: British luxury car maker Bentley today launched its first sports utility vehicle (SUV) Bentayga in the country, priced upwards of Rs 3.85 crore (ex-showroom, Delhi).

"India is aggressively growing in the luxury automobile space. With the arrival of the Bentayga, Bentley will set a benchmark for the SUV segment in India and the world will see a craftsmanship of unsurpassable calibre applied to an SUV for the first time," Satya Bagla, managing director of Exclusive Motors, which sells Bentleys, said.

Bentley has already received more than a hundred bookings for the Bentayga in India, with the first delivery slated to start within two weeks.

According to Bagla, the sales of Bentleys is growing at 15 per cent year-on-year, and the car maker will add one showroom every year in the country. Bentley has a showroom in Delhi and Mumbai, both with a service centre, with a third coming up in Hyderabad in two months.

With the domestic SUV market gaining momentum, all manufacturers have stepped into this segment, including Maserati, Jaguar and Lamborghini.

Globally, Bentley is bullish on selling 2,600 units of the Bentayga in 2016. The car maker has 200 dealers in 55 countries.

Bentley has apparently allocated only 20 Bentaygas for India this year, with all the units reportedly sold out.

The customers for these models are from amongst the current crop of Bentley owners and some select brand loyalists. After the first 20 cars, the buyers will have to wait for around five months as each Bentley is handcrafted at its production base in Crewe, England.

The car, which is also among the most expensive SUVs in the world, is powered by an all-new 6.0-litre twin-turbocharged W12 petrol engine coupled with an eight-speed automatic transmission, making it the fastest and most powerful SUV in the world, according to Bentley.

The SUV accelerates from 0-100kph in four seconds and boasts of a maximum speed of 187mph/301kph. It also delivers a fuel efficiency of 19.2 litres per 100km on city roads.