TROY, Mich. -- Bentley is an automotive name with a certain mystique, so when they introduce a new model, it's felt throughout the upper-crust marketplace. When they enter a entirely new segment, it's even bigger news. 

The auto industry has been abuzz all year with news of the coming 2017 Bentley Bentayga, the first SUV from the high-end automaker, and it's finally here. On Sunday I got a chance to see it up close, on display at the newly expanded Bentley showroom that Suburban Collection operates in Troy, Michigan.

So what's my first impression of the Bentayga, which comes in with a starting price of about $230K: Externally it's a thing of beauty, with a distinctive look no other SUV can offer -- especially in the grille. The interior (which is highly customizable with more than a dozen color options) is intricate and classy, down to the hand-stitching on the seats.

I could only look and was not able to drive the Bentayga yet (I hope to do so later this year), but the powerful 6.0-liter W-12 engine and 600 horsepower (and 664 lb.-ft. of torque) it offers leave very high hopes for what it will be like on the road. There's even an off-road package available if you want to take a $200K+ car off the beaten path. Oh yeah, it also tops out at 187 mph, if you're ever in a place where it's possible to go that fast (not that I'd recommend it).

Regarding the reason why SUV decided to take the plunge and make an SUV after so many years of not offering one, Bentley chief communication officer Jeff Kuhlman said:

"The trend in the industry is that crossovers and SUVs do very well. We saw our customers, who often have four to six cars, going to Escalade and Land Rover. We wanted to fill that void."

Overall sales goals
With a pricetag starting around $230K and the possibility of going into the $300K bracket with features added on, the Bentley brand will never rival its more affordable competitors in terms of overall sales numbers. But that's partly by design, as this brand needs to maintain a sense of exclusivity and not overproduce its vehicles.

Still, the brand (which still builds all of its vehicles at its factory in Crewe, England) is looking for numbers to tick up in coming years. For the past few years, their total sales numbers have been about 10,000, mostly from its Continental line of vehicles.

With the Bentayga coming on board, and both current Bentley customers looking to upgrade to an SUV, and non-Bentley buyers possible making the move to a Bentayga now that an SUV is offered, those numbers should rise steadily in the coming years. An ambitious goal of Bentley's is to double sales to the 20,000 range within 5 to 10 years -- and while that may or may not happen, there is bound to be substantial growth now that there is more diversity in the brand's lineup. (And it's anticipated the Bentayga will pass the Continental as the brand's most popular model within a few years).

Specificially for the Bentayga, total sales of at least 5,000 are anticipated (possible more if interest grows), with about 1,500 of that number coming from the United States.

Background on the Troy showroom
The Bentleys I saw were housed in the newly upgraded 5,200 square-foot showroom with high ceilings (32 feet) at the Suburban Collection's campus in Troy, which also houses showrooms for Lamborghini, Rolls Royce and Maserati. The new showroom had formerly housed a Hummer showroom in a past life, and in recent years was a temporary home for Cadillac and Kia dealerships during renovations.

Now it's classed up to the Bentley line, and the extra space was in part added due to the urging of Bentley, which wanted more room to show off its new wares -- included the long-awaited Bentayga (which started out as a concept car in 2012 and has evolved quite a bit to get to where it ended up).

The new showroom opens up to the public in Troy on Jan. 12, and an uptick in visitors is anticipated due to the arrival of the Bentayga. David Butler, executive manager of Suburban Collection, said it's anticipated the Troy location will sell about 20 Bentaygas this year, though it's likely they'll be able to sell more if Bentley gives them access to more of the vehicles, which are expected to be in high demand at dealerships all over the country. All of Bentley's other models will continue to be sold at the Troy location, too.

The bottom line
To this point, other automakers offering luxury SUVs could take comfort in knowing that Bentley fans didn't have an option in-house, but that's no longer the case. I'll be curious to see how that shakes things up for the competition in this small but competitive segment of high-end SUVs.

AutoTechReviews.com can be found on Twitter @AutoTechReview, or stay updated at the AutoTechReviews Facebook page. Matt Myftiu can be found on Twitter @MattMyftiu.