Bentley Continental Flying Spur Sedan

Bentley Continental Flying Spur Sedan

The Bentley Continental Flying Spur is an ultra-luxury sedan available in a base version and the higher-performance Flying Spur Speed variant. Both versions of this ultra-luxury sedan are powered by a twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter W12 engine attached to a six-speed automatic transmission. All-wheel drive is also standard. The base Flying Spur produces 552 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque, which takes it from zero to 60 in 4.9 seconds.

The Flying Spur Speed features 600 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque, getting to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds. In addition to the bigger engine, the Speed version gets bigger wheels, bigger brakes, a retuned suspension and consequent improved handling dynamics. Despite these performance upgrades, the Speed retains every drop of Bentley civility. Naturally, standard equipment is generous. Nineteen-inch wheels, an adjustable air suspension, four-zone automatic climate control, navigation, Bluetooth phone connectivity and leather everywhere are all part of the package. Options include adaptive cruise control, front-seat lumbar massage, a full-length center console (that reduces seating capacity to four) and a 15-speaker Naim audio system.

A Mulliner Driving Specification package includes special 20-inch wheels, alloy foot pedals, diamond-quilted leather and a choice of exclusive veneers. A further range of customization is provided via 17 leather color choices and an almost endless selection of exterior paints. With its adjustable air suspension and sophisticated engineering, the Bentley Continental Flying Spur can float along the freeway, enveloping its occupants in quiet comfort, or just as easily zip through corners like a sport sedan that's half a ton lighter. In fact, in our testing it bettered the slalom speeds of the BMW 7 Series and matched the Bentley Continental GT coupe. Although hardly a sports car, the Flying Spur's steering is rock solid at speed and light when you need it to be around town -- exactly what most ultra-luxury sedan buyers are looking for.

The Flying Spur Speed ups the performance ante considerably, but still retains its status as a posh luxury cruiser. Bentley Continental Flying Spur V8, no doubt powered by the same twin-turbo 500-hp 4.0-liter V-8 that just made its debut under the hood of the Continental GT. In our testing, the new V-8 GT coupe was 0.2 second faster to 60 mph and 0.1 second faster in the quarter mile than the last 567-hp Continental GT W-12 we tested, while matching its lateral g around the skidpad. Not only that, but the GT V8 starts about $20,000 less than the W-12 model and is EPA-rated at 15/24 mpg, for the handful of Bentley owners who care about such matters. How close will the performance of the Continental Flying Spur V8 be to the top-of-the-line Flying Spur Speed W-12 model? We'll know soon enough.