The Flying Englishman
The new Bentley Flying Spur might not look different, but the high-performance V8 hybrid system is a work of art, writes James Fossdyke
Art comes in many different forms. Whether it’s a piece of music, a landscape, or even a feat of engineering, there are examples of beauty all around us. But for many years, the Bentley Flying Spur was not among them. It was never exactly ugly, but nor was it eye-wateringly pretty. In more recent years, though, the four-door Bentley has matured quite nicely, becoming at least handsome, if not quite gorgeous.
With the notable exception of the Continental GT, however, none of Bentley’s products is what we’d generally consider beautiful. Upmarket? Yes. Muscular? Usually. Attractive? Perhaps. But pretty? No. That’s no criticism – the brand’s sales and desirability suggest whatever the designers are doing is working – but Bentley’s brand is more striking than sexy. Think luxurious, not lascivious.
In the case of the new Flying Spur, though, the best adjective is perhaps imposing. The four-door saloon is enormous, measuring 5.3 metres long and 2.2 metres wide – so big your average dachshund would consider a single lap of the car “a long walk”. And you could land a helicopter on the bonnet. Not that we’d suggest it, given the paint job on my particular test car would have set you back a massive £19,000.
And yes, at more than £200,000 before you even think about the paintwork, the Flying Spur doesn’t come cheap, but you get an awful lot of car for your money. The space inside is plentiful for four adults, and the luxury and comfort is second to none. The seats are wrapped in fabulously soft leather, but that is not what makes them so brilliant. No, the shape and support they offer, as well as the adjustability and padding, means you can travel for hours and hours on end without it taking any great toll.
But the seats aren’t the most impressive thing about the Flying Spur. And nor is the technology, although there’s plenty to be said for it. The digital instrument display and massive touchscreen are as helpful and as well considered as they should be, and they’re beautifully designed, while I’m a big fan of the rotating screen. When the car is sitting on your driveway, the screen rolls behind a panel of veneer that matches the dashboard perfectly, but the screen resurfaces when the car is switched on. Or, at the touch of a button, you can swap the screen for a more classic look with three dials – my personal favourite configuration.
As clever as that may be, though, what impresses most is the quality of the materials and the way in which they seamlessly merge into one solid mass. The whole cabin feels flawless, with lovely lumps of hewn metal, soft-touch plastics, and Bentley’s hallmark leather, which is painstakingly stitched and cut to devastating effect. Combined with thick woollen carpets and glorious wood veneer, the effect is magical. Despite all the different materials, it all feels cohesive and finely crafted, like a piece of expensive furniture. The team working at the factory in Crewe have done themselves proud.
So proud, in fact, that even the brilliance of the new Flying Spur’s engine isn’t enough to overshadow the classiness of the cabin. Once upon a time, the Flying Spur’s most powerful variants came with a huge 6.0-litre W12 engine, but that has been replaced by a 4.0-litre V8 combined with an electric motor. It’s a plug-in hybrid system, allowing the Bentley to operate on electricity alone for up to 47 miles. In truth, there’s little more than 30 miles of silent running on offer, but that’s ample for serenely crawling through town.
When you want to go faster, though, the big, bruising V8 will fire up, grumbling like a hungry bull, and providing even more power. With both the engine and the electric motor driving all four of the Flying Spur’s wheels, this Speed model has 771bhp to offer. That, combined with the immediate response of the electric motor, means even the 2.6-tonne Flying Spur Speed can live up to its name with consummate ease. Getting from 0-60mph takes a little over three seconds, and it’ll reach 100mph in less than eight seconds. It’s astonishingly fast for something so huge.
And the car handles well, too. It never hides its size, but with the suspension in its sportiest setting, it does control its weight well. It isn’t exactly agile, but for something this big, it drives spectacularly well, and the steering is almost Porsche-esque in its precision. Which probably shouldn’t be a surprise, given Porsche’s close relationship with Bentley.
And for all the Flying Spur’s precision and sportiness, choosing the more comfort-oriented suspension settings brings back the soft, cossetting ride we expect from a big, luxurious limousine. In truth, that setting feels a bit too slack on a country road, but it’s brilliant at soaking up the undulations on a long motorway drive.
The Flying Spur is like nothing else out there. Something this big, comfortable and luxurious would normally be considered a car to be driven in, not a car to drive. Yet with a flick of your left wrist and twitch of your right toe, the Flying Spur becomes a sensational sports saloon, belying its comfort and class with seemingly limitless power and poise. The combination of smoothness and sportiness, of serenity and speed, is little short of a masterpiece. And for racing across continents, there’s little better.
Yes, the Continental GT does all that – it’s an absolutely sensational car. But the way the Flying Spur takes most of the Continental’s sporting capabilities, then merges them so successfully with a luxury limousine, is little short of astounding. As with so many of Bentley’s other products, the Flying Spur is a remarkable feat of engineering. It may not be especially beautiful, but it can’t fail to captivate with its capability. And that magical cabin.
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