The first production Bentley Bentayga has rolled off the line in the United Kingdom Friday, marking the manufacturer’s advance into the ultra-luxury SUV segment.

The hand-built SUV took 130 hours to assemble.

Bentley claims the Bentayga is the fastest and most powerful SUV in the world. VW’s new twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter W12 engine delivers 600 horsepower and 663 lb-ft of torque, launching the Bentayga to 60 mph in four seconds flat. As previously promised, it will continue to accelerate all the way up to 187 mph.

Upholding its positioning as the world’s most luxurious SUV, Bentley will charge U.S. buyers $229,100 for the Bentayga, according to Automotive News. That price point narrowly beats out the Mercedes-AMG G65, which carries an MSRP of $217,900, as the most expensive utility vehicle on the market today.

“This car is a celebration of UK manufacturing at its very best, not only reinforcing our commitment to industry in this country, job creation and significant investment, but to our home in Crewe. This is an important moment in our history, where we reflect and celebrate, but also look ahead to delivering this extraordinary car to our customers,” said Wolfgang Dürheimer, Chairman and CEO of Bentley Motors, in the announcement.

Bentley drivers spent plenty of time at the Nurburgring to refine the suspension system, with over 400 laps of the Nordschleife circuit. A 48V electrical system powers Bentley’s Dynamic Ride roll-control technology to counteract roll forces around corners. The SUV’s steering system also benefits from the 48V circuitry, with a variable rack ratio for fast steering at slow speeds and a subdued response at higher speeds.

Live images by Ronan Glon.

Insiders suggest BMW’s MINI division will sit out both the Detroit and the Geneva shows next year.

“It’s not a move that has a lot of internal support,” revealed an anonymous spokesman in an interview with Australian website Motoring. “There is a school of thought that we should be doing our own events, rather than joining in to motor shows as per tradition.”

On one hand, the move is little surprising because MINI has at least two major new product launches scheduled for next year that need as much exposure as possible. It will introduce the second-generation Countryman, which will be bigger and more rugged than the current model, and the performance-focused, John Cooper Works-badged version of the new Clubman (pictured) that bowed in Frankfurt earlier this year.

On the other hand, the move makes sense from a financial perspective because the company is small and it can’t unveil a new model at every show of the season, meaning its booth often gets overlooked by both the public and the press. Consequently, the cons of having a presence at every show likely outweigh the pros.

Jaguar – Land Rover recently confirmed plans to sit out the Detroit Motor Show, but MINI hasn’t commented on the report. Only time will tell if it’ll trek out to the nation’s Motor City next month.

Déjà vu
The move isn’t unprecedented. Last year, Sweden’s Volvo announced plans to limit its presence to one major auto show per region, meaning it’s skipping the New York, the Los Angeles, and the Chicago shows. Instead, the company introduces cars at private events usually held at its headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden, and it puts prospective buyers behind the wheel by organizing regular product clinics all around the globe.

Live images — perhaps the last of a new MINI at a car show — by Ronan Glon.

Audi has reportedly suspended two engineers implicated in the ongoing emissions scandal.

Parent Volkswagen Group has faced most of the criticism for implementing ‘defeat’ software to circumvent emissions regulations in the US and abroad. VW developed the smaller diesel engine that accounts for most of the non-compliant vehicles, however the larger non-compliant 3.0-liter V6 engine was engineered by Audi.

VW initially denied that its V6 powerplant employed a defeat system, arguing that a legal software provision “had not been adequately described” by the company during the Environmental Protection Agency certification process. Despite the statement, the EPA and California Air Resources Board claim the software violates US emissions regulations.

Following the latest revelations, Audi chairman Berthold Huber claims “the causes for such grave mistakes must be found and eliminated, according to a statement published by Reuters. At least two engineers have been suspended as the company continues its internal investigation.

“The Air Resources Board today sent an In Use Compliance letter notifying Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche to start the process necessary to recall and repair illegal emissions software in all 3-liter diesel vehicles, model years 2009 – 2015, sold in California,” CARB said in a statement. “This action is the result of an admission by officials at Audi A.G., manufacturer of all the engines involved, that the vehicles contain three undisclosed auxiliary emissions control devices.”

Affected models include certain Audi A7, A8 and A8L sedans, along with the Q5, Q7, VW Touareg and Porsche Cayenne crossovers. Unlike the models outfitted with the smaller EA 189 engine, the V6-powered vehicles were built with a urea-injection system to help remove nitrogen oxides. A simple software revision appears to be sufficient to bring the vehicles back into compliance, though it is unclear if the modification will affect fuel consumption or performance.

Audi, VW and Porsche have 45 business days to finalize a recall plan and submit the details to the CARB.

The new Honda Pilot has received a five-star overall crashworthiness rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Redesigned for the 2016 model year, the crossover received a four-star rating in the 35 mph frontal barrier impact test. Driver protections received five stars, however the passenger received four stars with much higher forces measured on the left and right femurs.

All side-crash tests resulted in five-star ratings, including side-barrier and side-pole impacts. The high-riding model received four stars in the rollover trial, with no tip in the dynamic test and an estimated 16.4 percent chance of rollover in the government’s theoretical evasive-maneuver scenario.

The revamped three-row SUV earlier this year received Top Safety Pick+ honors from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. ‘Good’ ratings were achieved in all trials, including the challenging small-overlap crash that is not included in the NHTSA’s New Car Assessment Program.

Honda has worked to improve the Pilot’s structure, implementing the Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body structure and “three-bone” underbody frame to help improve crash-test performance. The boxy previous-generation model had received a ‘poor’ rating in the small-overlap test, which demonstrated a high likelihood of injuries to the left hip and possible injuries to the left knee and lower legs.

“With the addition of advanced safety and driver-assistive technologies available through Honda Sensing, no other midsize mainstream SUV on the market today can match the Pilot’s top IIHS and NHTSA safety scores,” said Honda senior VP Jeff Conrad.

Ahead of the busy Thanksgiving travel holiday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has warned that traffic deaths are up in the first half of 2015.

The raw number of deaths logged in the agency’s Fatal Analysis Reporting System remained relatively flat last year, dropping by 0.1 percent to 32,675 lives lost, while the rate of deaths, measured per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, dropped to a record low of 1.07.

The numbers are not continuing to trend downward for 2015, however. The fatality tally in the first half of the year is up by 8.1 percent from the same period last year, while the rate rose by 4.4 percent.

Under new leadership of administrator Mark Rosekind, an expert in fatigue management, the agency is taking a more comprehensive approach to death reductions, rather than focusing solely on single issues that contribute to accidents.

The agency will launch a cross-country program of regional meetings, culminating in a national gathering in Washington, DC, to gather ideas and engage new partners to address the many human behavioral issues that contribute to road deaths.

“Behavioral safety programs are the heart of NHTSA’s safety mission,” Rosekind said in a statement. “While great public attention is focused on safety defects and recalls, and rightfully so, it is time as a nation to reinvigorate the fight against drunk and drugged driving, distraction and other risks that kill thousands every year, and time for State and local governments to reassess whether they are making the right policy choices to improve highway safety.”

Data suggests some trends are remaining “stubbornly constant” from year to year. A third of fatalities are still associated with drunk driving, while half of all occupants killed were not wearing seat belts. Unsurprisingly, deaths of motorcyclists without helmets continued to remain far higher in states without strong helmet laws.

Despite the fear-inducing warnings, the NHTSA admits that the 2015 numbers have not been corrected for several statistical factors including gasoline prices, increased job growth, more driving by young people and increased leisure driving.