Aston Martin DBX S Smashes Bentley's Goodwood Hillclimb Record As Quickly As It Was Set

Miami Herald

4 days ago

The annual Goodwood Festival of Speed is always one of the biggest highlights of the automotive calendar, and this year did not disappoint, with numerous reveals, dynamic debuts, and hillclimb runs. One of the most impressive ventures up Lord March's driveway during the timed shootout was that of the Bentley Bentayga Speed, which broke the old Bentayga W12's record to become the fastest internal combustion engine SUV ever to tackle the course. Unfortunately for Bentley's 641-horsepower SUV, the 717-hp Aston Martin DBX S was also in attendance, and it broke Bentley's record before the weekend was out. You can watch that record run from onboard at the bottom of this article.
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The Bentayga Speed's expedition up the Goodwood Hillclimb was timed at 55.8 seconds, while the DBX S took just 53.12 seconds. A difference of over a second and a half is quite something for such a short course, and the onboard video suggests that there was still time to be made. The launch looked good, but the shift to second gear seemed a little delayed. At the first bend, Madgwick, there's some tire squeal, and as the DBX S goes onto the Fordwater "straight," some corrective steering is required. After clearing the right-hander before St. Mary's corner, the DBX S experiences some proper oversteer as the sharp left-hander tightens up before heading to the slowest part of the track, Lavant, before the kinked Lavant straight ahead of the finish line. It's not the cleanest lap it could have been, but that the Aston snatched the record anyway speaks to the potential of the super SUV.
We can't ignore the fact that the Bentayga Speed's run was set in damp conditions, so it's reasonable to assume that a quicker time could be achieved in the same weather experienced by the DBX S. However, a difference of more than 70 horsepower is tough to overcome. Bentley's Ultra Performance Hybrid powertrain, also with a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, generates 771 hp, but there has been no indication that this powertrain will be fitted to the SUV. If it is, perhaps the Bentayga will have a chance of reclaiming the record, but that extra power would also come with extra weight. Regardless, the next 12 months of gloating (at least) belong to Aston, and with more and more super SUVs going the hybrid route, the DBX S may own the ICE SUV record at Goodwood for all time.
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