Bentley’s EXP 9 luxury SUV model has generated enormous controversy for a car that is, in theory, no more than another pretty consumer product. The design is in strong contrast with traditional SUVs, being in some ways so odd that you cannot even tell whether it is a more sober or more glamorous version than its predecessors.
The attention garnered by Bentley’s model is indicative, above all, of just how relevant SUVs have become in today’s automobile market. Range Rover also boast a luxury SUV model in their catalogue and there are rumours that Rolls Royce may join the fray. But the expression ‘luxury SUV’ may have a slightly tautological ring to it, as these powerful beasts are seldom purchased for their practicality – in fact, the reason behind the emergence of this type of car as a prominent model in what is otherwise a relatively unchanged driving scenario (compared to thirty or forty years ago, at least) may be traced to its aura of prestige. An SUV is not only a car but a very particular statement today, projecting wealth without snobbery, power without brutishness, and comfort without laxness. It is not the kind of thing that will be picked up by someone looking for any used Mercedes for sale.
Different markets have responded differently to the SUV, of course. In Europe, with its highly urbanised territory, it failed to gather quite as much momentum. But it is still one of the most appreciated cars in the USA and especially in Asia, where the Chinese market is devouring these powerful status symbols at a rate that catches every manufacturer’s attention.
The rise of the SUV is, perhaps, primarily a story of fashion, indicating how our taste and our perception of cars – rather than their actual use – have evolved. A brief comparison with one of the greatest luxury cars of all time may help us understand this point. Consider the Rolls Royce Silver Wraith, produced in 1947. It was not an entirely new model as much as an update of the pre-war version. It was highly customisable, coming in a ‘chassis-only’ form which allowed different bodies to be fit according to the user’s desire.
The Silver Wraith was a luxury model because it combined elegance with engineering. It was a heavy car in every sense (its actual weight occasionally hampering its performances), and one that relished in its mechanical, urban, cutting-edge appeal. SUVs, by contrast, stress a range that is not limited to cities – they are, conceptually, off-road vehicles, but they tend to be used in a wider variety of scenarios (the new Mazda CX-7, for example, is a luxury SUV which drives like a sports car). And this is perhaps the main sign of the times, with respect to cars and their owners. While the Silver Wraith was a luxury car because it foregrounded what the industrial world was capable of doing, the new breed of SUVs is appreciated for offering ‘universal’ vehicles. Despite being seldom used in ways that are different from other models, they are fashioned as cars that can fit any fantasy – speed, adventure, elegance and fun. They have less to say about the technological process that has been made in the world of automobiles than they do about their drivers’ imagination, which has shifted from the mechanically specific to the (greatly) versatile.
