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Bentley Bentayga Speed Edition 12
Bentley Motors / Bentley Newsroom · Editorial reproduction only · Photo details
THE RARITY EDIT / EDITION 018

Rare by nature.
Different by design.

An engine tribute, two regional send-offs, an open rear cabin and a chassis-focused Bentley reveal five different directions for the rare SUV.

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A RARITY RIDES JOURNAL SERIESONE IDEA. A FEW REMARKABLE MACHINES.
The Rarity Edit / 018October 21, 2026By Rarity Rides Editorial Team

Rare SUVs: five different ways to use the format

A tall body and a small production programme do not tell you what an SUV is trying to achieve. One edition can celebrate the engine beneath its bonnet. Another can preserve a familiar specification for a particular market. A third can reorganise the entire experience of sitting in the back.

These five vehicles take that shared format in different directions. There are two Bentaygas here deliberately: one makes the W12 its subject, while the other concentrates attention on the chassis and wheels. Between them, Mitsubishi, Toyota and Mercedes-Maybach show how regional identity and passenger accommodation can define a limited programme.

Read the numbers with their boundaries attached. A Japanese allocation, a Middle Eastern edition and a worldwide model programme describe different populations. They are useful identifiers, rather than a league table of desirability. The more rewarding question is what each manufacturer chose to do with the space and mechanical foundation it had.

01 / An engine becomes the theme — Bentayga Speed Edition 12

Bentley announced the Speed Edition 12 as a tribute to its W12 engine, with 120 examples of each of four models: Continental GT, Continental GTC, Flying Spur and Bentayga. The Bentayga therefore has its own 120-car programme; that number does not describe the combined four-model collection. [1]

The design makes the engine legible even when the bonnet is closed. Edition-specific exterior identification and cabin detailing connect the vehicle with the twelve-cylinder powerplant. Bentley’s presentation turns a normally hidden assembly into the organising idea for a complete car.

That matters in an SUV whose basic outline also accommodates other engines and different priorities. The limited edition identifies one particular mechanical chapter within a larger model family. Look at its title as a guide to the intended subject, then follow the details back towards the engine. Its rarity belongs to that defined version, rather than to every Bentley carrying a Bentayga badge.

02 / A regional farewell — Pajero Final Edition, Japan

Mitsubishi’s April 2019 announcement offered 700 Pajero Final Edition vehicles for Japan. Its market boundary is essential: the announcement concerned the close of Japanese sales of that generation, rather than an immediate end to all overseas Pajero activity. The Final Edition name needs the place and year beside it. [2]

Here the limited programme draws meaning from familiarity. The upright body and established four-wheel-drive identity belong to a vehicle people already knew. The edition gives that existing relationship a defined final chapter in one market instead of asking a new body style to carry the story.

For a reader building a collection, that is an invitation to save the exact profile. An unqualified search for a Pajero Final Edition can combine different regional stories. Keeping Japan and 2019 attached preserves the event this car represents. The interest lies as much in where the model’s history was being marked as in the equipment fitted to each example.

03 / The same silhouette, a different territory — FJ Cruiser Final Edition

Toyota’s 2023 FJ Cruiser Final Edition was announced as a 1,000-vehicle programme for the Middle East. The regional launch described beige exterior treatment, contrasting dark details and edition identification. Those choices make the familiar FJ shape the focal point rather than trying to disguise its age with a different visual character. [3]

Its upright screen, prominent wheel arches and contrasting body surfaces already offer a strong graphic identity. A restrained common colour treatment gathers those elements into a coherent edition. The design can be recognised before its badge is read, while the programme name supplies the historical context.

The comparison with the Pajero is useful precisely because the programmes have separate boundaries. They concern different models, years and territories. Neither regional figure should be treated as a total for the underlying model across its lifetime. Save the specification and market together, and the edition remains understandable when viewed alongside other FJ Cruiser variants.

04 / Change the passenger experience — G 650 Landaulet

The 2017 Mercedes-Maybach G 650 Landaulet combined a V12, portal axles and an extended passenger compartment with an opening fabric roof above the rear seats. Mercedes described a series of 99 vehicles. Its defining change is visible in the relationship between the enclosed driving area and the open rear accommodation. [4]

A landaulet places the roof opening over the passengers being carried. That gives the body a different social arrangement from a conventional convertible in which everyone shares the same open cockpit. The rear compartment is the centre of the proposal, with the elevated G-Class foundation supplying a particularly unusual setting.

It also shows how many apparently conflicting ideas one SUV can hold. The axle arrangement belongs to the vehicle’s ability to negotiate difficult terrain, while the rear seats and partition belong to a luxury passenger environment. The appeal comes from that deliberate combination. Look beyond the open roof and consider who each part of the vehicle is designed to serve.

05 / Work at the corners — Bentayga Apex Edition

Bentley’s 2024 Apex Edition by Mulliner took the Bentayga S as its starting point and announced just 20 examples worldwide. Its specification brought carbon wheels and carbon-ceramic brakes into the foreground, alongside Mulliner’s exterior and interior treatments. The edition directs attention towards the components around which the vehicle moves. [5]

Wheels and brakes have a different role from cabin veneers or an engine tribute. Their material, mass and function belong to the relationship between body, suspension and road. Describing those components explains the programme more clearly than simply calling it a highly specified Bentayga.

Placed beside the Speed Edition 12, the Apex demonstrates how one model family can support different limited-edition arguments. One begins with a powerplant; the other draws attention to chassis hardware. Their shared silhouette makes the contrast easier to read. The rare-SUV category is broad enough to contain both, provided the exact edition remains attached to the description.

Begin with the job, then read the badge

The useful distinction between these SUVs is their organising purpose. Engine identity explains the Speed Edition 12. A particular territory and point in time explain the Pajero and FJ Cruiser programmes. Rear passenger accommodation explains the Landaulet, while the Apex rewards a closer look at wheels and brakes.

That approach makes a personal collection more interesting than a list sorted only by production figure. Save the car whose particular idea interests you, then use its profile to retain the programme boundary and source trail.

An SUV supplies space, height and a familiar basic format. A small series can use those ingredients to express very different ambitions. The edition name is the beginning of the investigation; the engineering and market context explain why it exists.

Sources & further reading

  1. Bentley: Speed Edition 12 — Manufacturer announcement; 120 examples of each of four models.
  2. Mitsubishi: Pajero Final Edition, Japan — Original Japanese announcement; 700 vehicles for the Japanese market.
  3. Toyota Qatar: FJ Cruiser Final Edition — Regional distributor announcement of the 2023 Middle Eastern programme.
  4. Mercedes-Benz: G 650 Landaulet — Manufacturer account of the 99-vehicle landaulet and its mechanical layout.
  5. Bentley: Apex Edition by Mulliner — Twenty-car programme, carbon wheels and carbon-ceramic brakes.

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