Road Test: Bentley Flying Spur
Bentley insists that the Flying Spur is a car you want to drive just as much as be driven in. Mark put’s it through its paces.
WORDS: Mark Rose | PHOTOS: Dom Ginn
With the Bentley Mulsanne now confined to the pages of Autotrader – check out the used values if you’re interested in buying a lot of motor for the money – the latest Flying Spur has some large, exquisitely crafted shoes to fill if you’re in the market for a new limo from Crewe. Whilst it’s not considered a like-for-like replacement of Bentley’s deceased flagship, the Flying Spur is now the only saloon car in the model line-up, making it the Mulsanne’s logical heir apparent.
The Flying Spur shares a platform with the Continental GT, but the chassis and bodywork are mostly bespoke and rear-wheel steering has been introduced – something that only the new Speed models in the Conti’ range currently make use of. The brief here seems simple: create a luxury saloon car that people want to drive just as much as they want to be driven in. Bentley may have strong form in this department, but finding the right balance between exemplary refinement and dynamic capability is a tight line to walk.
From a sporting context, the VW Group’s MSB platform which underpins the aforementioned Continental GT, as well as the Porsche Panamera, Taycan, and Audi e-tron GT, is a good place to start. With a kerbweight of 2,437kg, the Flying Spur is a hefty barge, so Bentley has had to pull out all the stops to ensure it keeps keener drives entertained. The chassis and bodywork are made entirely of aluminium to help keep the weight down, and the considerable mass is kept in check by electronically controlled anti-roll bars. The big Bentley handles country roads remarkably well for a car of such size and weight. The nose is keen to turn in – aided by the rear wheel steering – the body resists excessive roll, and the sheer weight of the vehicle along with the compliance of the suspension prevents it from being deflected off-line over bumpy roads. Light steering makes the car feel surprisingly light on its feet, and when you need to anchor down, the colossal 420mm iron brakes grind the car to a halt in an almost alarming fashion. Depending on which driving mode you’re in, the four-wheel-drive system can send up to 70% of the torque to the rear wheels, but you can also feel the system shuffling some to the front wheels to help you out of corners when it thinks you’re about to enter in to some understeer. Dynamically, it’s superior to a Rolls Royce Ghost and it makes the previous generation Flying Spur look more like the chauffeur car it was designed to be. Our test car was equipped with the 6.0 litre W12 engine, but if you want an even sharper driving experience then you can opt to have a 4.0 litre V8 motor instead. Physics defying is the phrase that comes to mind.
On the subject of engines, the W12 is an absolute powerhouse. The twin-turbocharged unit puts out 626bhp at 6,000rpm and a huge 664lb ft from just 1,350rpm – our calculations theorise that’s enough torque to pull along a small planet. Power is distributed by an eight-speed twin-clutch auto which isn’t the sharpest ‘box when calling for gears manually, but discreetly slips through the cogs when you’re just wallowing along. When you get your foot down, the Flying Spur really thunders along thanks to a 0-62mph time of 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 207mph, but numbers really don’t do justice to the way it continues to pile on speed. The mammoth torque figure from low rpm makes for a truly effortless driving experience, performance seemingly available whenever you call for it with the only caveat being the dull throttle response. There are three pre-set driving modes (Comfort, Bentley and Sport) and an Individual setting with some configurability. In all but the sportiest driving mode, the throttle response lags a little, but overall, the engine and the performance it delivers is sublime.
Of course, sporty demeanour doesn’t necessarily define driving pleasure, particularly if you’re the type of person who just loves to waft about. If you fall in to the latter camp, then you’ll appreciate the Flying Spur’s rolling refinement more so than its ability to bend the rules of physics on an interesting piece of road. Three chamber air suspension ensures the ride quality is cushion-soft at all times, while the damping does a superb job of ironing out large road undulations. It glides over all but the most uneven road surfaces with only the occasional vibration making its way in to the cabin, and does a fine job of blocking out the majority of road noise despite riding on large 22-inch alloy wheels. At speed, you can pick out a little wind noise, but it’s not intrusive and is more than forgivable when you consider that even the Rolls Royce Phantom suffers from the same issue. Overall, though, the Flying Spur takes refinement and ride quality to a level that its Continental GT sibling can’t match and make’s a case for itself as a worthy Mulsanne replacement.
The interior is lifted from the Conti’ GT which is no bad thing, but the rear of the cabin is bespoke to the Flying Spur. Vegans look away now, there’s enough cow hide here to make an animal rights activist recoil in to their gluten and lactose-free veggie burger. Imperial Blue leather with Hotspur contrast stitching was omnipresent, and the Dark Fiddleback Eucalyptus over Grand Black veneer was tasteful and beautifully finished. Bentley’s signature diamond quilting adorned the seats and door cards, and the general fit and finish were outstanding. But of course, you expect nothing less from team Crewe. The men and women there are world-class craftspeople who handmake everything with an unrivalled passion and attention to detail.
The infotainment system is housed in a triple-sided rotating display with a 12.3-inch touchscreen on one side, unbroken veneer on another, and three analogue gauges on the third rotation. Some will consider this a bit of a gimmick, but the compass, chronometer and outside temperature readout are exquisite to look at and make for a beautiful cabin centrepiece. The actual infotainment system has modern graphics and is easy to navigate, but the response time could be a little a sharper. Our demo also came with the optional 2,200W, 19-speaker Naim HiFi. A previous Bentley we tested had the lesser B&O system installed which sounded fantastic, but Naim takes your in-car audio experience to a different level and is bested only by Rolls Royce Bespoke Audio. One final word on the tech before we discuss the backseat experience. Many German car manufacturers dazzle you with modern technology using an unnecessary number of screens, whereas Bentley offer the same mod cons without ramming them down your throat. I appreciate this may be subjective, but in my opinion, the Bentley way is the proper way of doing it. This is real luxury motoring.
If you’re the type that likes to be driven, then you will not be displeased with the backseat experience offered by the Flying Spur. Not only are there acres of leg room, but smaller details like the headrest cushions, vanity mirrors, window blinds, drinks cooler and separate rear infotainment screen all add to the ambience. Want to stop commoners from checking out who’s in the back seat? The window blinds have you covered. Want a heated massage to go with that cold glass of champagne you just poured yourself? The heated and cooled seats with adjustable massage functions will please you to no end – these are also available in the front. Whether you want to conduct a business video call or simply relax, the backseat of the Flying Spur offers a calm and luxurious place to operate from.
All of this versatility will set you back £177,800 before options and our test car tallied up to £213,015. Yes, you knew before you started reading that it would cost a lot of money, but it’s also around £70,000 less than a Rolls Royce Ghost. Whether that makes it a bargain or not depends on how much disposable income you have.
Bentley has gone to town on the third-gen Flying Spur. In the absence of the Mulsanne, they needed something to tempt buyers away from a Rolls Royce while ensuring it doesn’t cannibalise Bentayga sales. Where previous iterations of the car felt a bit like a Continental GT afterthought, this new one feels like the standalone model it’s designed to be. Regardless of whether you want to be chauffeured around or involve yourself in the driving experience, it offers the best of both in an undeniably desirable package in a way that only Bentley know how. Cars don’t come much better than this.
Technical Specifications
Engine: W16, twin-turbo
Displacement: 5,950cc
Power: 626bhp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 664lb ft @ 1,350rpm
Transmission: 8-speed twin-clutch, AWD
0-62mph: 3.9 secs
VMAX: 207mph
Kerbweight: 2,437kg
Price: £177,800+ (when new)
9/10
Rating
“The big Bentley handles country roads remarkebly well for a car of such size and weight”
