Bentley reaches for the heavens with new Flying Spur
Sports sedans don’t come much bigger than the luxe marque's new flagship, nor much more expensive.
At 5.3 metres long and more than 2.4 tonnes in weight, the Flying Spur has presence.
If the road is narrow and bumpy and a sign tells you there are tight bends for the next 12 kilometres, you might be disappointed that you’re in a 5.3 metre long limousine. But frankly, the new Bentley Flying Spur has got this covered.
Put it in Sport mode and the results are dramatic. It feels big, sure. But it’s so much more agile than it has any right to be, particularly when that 5.3 metre length is accompanied by a weight of more than 2.4 tonnes.
The latest Spur has stronger lines and a more flowing silhouette previous incarnations.
The grip is phenomenal, the turn-in dramatic and the ability to punch out of corners is everything you’d expect of six litres, 12 cylinders and two twin-scroll turbochargers.
To achieve such impressive roadholding, along with an isolating ride, every chassis trick in the book is employed. These include adaptive all-wheel drive, four-wheel steering, high capacity air suspension and torque vectoring (by braking). The result is that, at the push of a button, the Flying Spur can be a corporate limousine or a convincing high-speed grand tourer.
Our version has lots of milled aluminium, beautiful leathers finished with chequered patterns and elaborate, contrasting coloured stitching.
You don’t even have to push a button if you leave it in the drive mode simply called Bentley. It will adapt to the conditions and the way you are driving.
Sports sedans don’t come much bigger than this, nor much more expensive. The base price is $469,900, a $45K premium on the outgoing W12 model. Furthermore, our car was fitted with the First Edition package ($97,791) and a few other pricey bibs and costly bobs, including a $17,296 sound system and $3196 of pin striping. It swiped through the scanner at $597,220 plus on-road costs.
The extravagantly finished interior can be customised to taste.
As a result, every single comfort feature available was installed on this car, including seats that were heated, and airconditioned, and fitted with inbuilt massagers. The rising price and specification is no accident. The Flying Spur’s only sedan stablemate, the largely hand-built Mulsanne, was recently dropped, promoting the Flying Spur to the brand’s flagship.
The latest Spur has stronger lines and a more flowing silhouette than the slightly upright previous incarnations. Its exterior is imposing if only for its sheer bulk, and has followed the trend for almost comically oversized grilles (looking at you, Lexus and BMW).
That said, our car was finished in black, which tended to mask the designer’s deft work on the exterior and made it look a little too much like an airport hire car. Fortunately, there is a near-infinite choice of other colours.
Inside the sumptuous and visually clean interior is a smooth wooden dashboard with a centre portion that rotates to display a large central screen. If you prefer a more old-world ambience, this panel can spin a second time to reveal a row of three analogue dials (outside temperature, compass and stopwatch).
It’s all extravagantly finished and can be adjusted to taste. Our version had lots of milled aluminium, beautiful leathers finished with chequered patterns and elaborate, contrasting, coloured stitching.
Whichever seat you're in, the Flying Spur is a comfortable ride.
The W12, a modular engine that has seen service in different forms in different brands within the VW Group (Bentley is wholly owned by the German colossus), is as close to silent as a petrol engine can be when cruising, but makes its presence heard when working hard.
The top-line sound system, called Naim for Bentley, is almost as good as it should be, considering it’s the price of a small hatchback. It comes complete with a CD/DVD player in the glovebox and a series of card slots so you can enjoy multi-channel music at the highest resolution. The car’s silent cruising abilities and superb insulation assist in showing off any music to best effect.
The instrument panel has virtual instruments, which is not necessarily what you’d expect in a Bentley. The HMI (human machine interface), largely controlled via the central touchscreen, will be familiar to anyone who has used the various VW Group systems. However, in this form it offers so much flexibility about how you display and control things that it’s an utter delight to use.
Machines this size rarely make for a great drivers’ car, no matter what their makers may claim. This one though, is a superb way to get around in any one of the seats.
BENTLEY FLYING SPUR
Price $469,900 (excluding on-road costs); $597,220 as tested
Engine Six-litre twin-turbo W12 (petrol)
Power/torque 467kW/900Nm
Fuel economy 14.8L/100km (combined cycle)
C0₂ 337g/km
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