Few automobiles deliver the type of aristocratic comfort one expects when dropping hundreds of thousands of dollars on a luxury four-door grand tourer. These are subtlely styled machines. Cars that arrive in a whoosh, deliver their occupants rested and calmed, and return to Autobahn speeds when the night is over. It’s what we’ve come to expect from Bentley’s Flying Spur and the newest iteration doesn’t dare deviate from that transcontinental prescription.
Given the often Cut and Paste laissez-faire attitude for new car specs across the automotive media, we thought we’d tease out five of the coolest details of the all-new Bentley Flying Spur for you to wow friends and family. The stuff that made us go, whoa. Engineering nerds shouldn’t fret, though, as if you scroll past our list, you can muddy yourself in all the Flying Spur’s gloriously machined details in The Skinny. Have at it.
5.) The “Flying B” Is Back With a New Groove
The Flying B is Bentley’s version of Rolls-Royce’s Spirit of Ecstasy. The hood ornament arises from the grille below and experiential fashion and has been completely redesigned for the newest Flying Spur. The first time in Bentley’s post-modern era.
4.) Yo, Dawg, We Heard You Like To Customize Your Whip
Though every Bentley can be in some way customized to your preferred predilections, the Flying Spur will be available to head to the brand’s Mulliner operations so each and every customer can create a bespoke automobile. According to Bentley, “From requests as simple as monogrammed upholstery to the kind of elaborate tailored body modifications that can only be undertaken with the proven expertise of a truly established coachbuilder, the highly skilled and dedicated Mulliner craftsmen deliver luxury of color to suit all tastes and perfections.”
3.) Luxury is Great and All, But So Are Twisty Fun Driving Dynamics
To let the nearly 5,361-pound grand tourer dance along the tarmac, Bentley fitted the Flying Spur with the now ubiquitous All-Wheel Steer system that’s found on Porsches, Lamborghinis, and Bugattis. During low-speed driving, the rear wheels turn the opposite way of the front to effectively shorten the car’s long wheelbase. During high-speed driving, the system turns them in tandem for better stability.
2.) It is an Audiophile’s Dream
The standard audio system is a 650-watt, 10-speaker system that most wouldn’t shake a stick at. However, this is Bentley and standard isn’t really the company’s repertoire. Dropping a flaming pile of cash onto Bentley’s doorstep will either get you a 1,500-watt, 16-speaker Bang & Olufsen system with illuminated speaker grilles, or a 2,200-watt, 19-speaker system from Naim.
1.) The Bentley Flying Spur is a Mach 2 Speed Freak
The heart of the Bentley Flying Spur is a 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged W-12 that generates a mountain-moving 626 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque. Backed up by Bentley’s dual-clutch 8-speed transmission, the Crewe-based company states that 60 mph happens in just 3.8 seconds and if the driver so chooses—and has a legal place to do so—they’ll be able to pilot the Flying Spur all the way to 207 mph.
The Skinny
When you’re in the back seats of a Flying Spur, you want to feel like the aristocracy—privileged, arrogant, powerful, and able to conquer new lands. Bentley’s newest Flying Spur appears to not stray from that recipe as it not only looks flawless but delivers the sort of old-money comfort we like to see in this type of automobile.
The new Flying Spur is based around the same aluminum and composite, 48V electronic chassis as its stablemate, the Continental GT. However, unlike the Continental GT and its sports-coupe dimensions, the Flying Spur had to be long, dignified, and ready to hold fully grown adults in the rear seats; something you most definitely cannot do in the two-door Continental GT. Achieving that meant the wheelbase was stretched by 5.1-inches, while its dimensions from end-to-end were stretched by nearly 20-inches.
Inside, the cabin is replete with wood veneers, machined aluminum, hand-stitched quilted leather seats, bronze switchgear, and enough software to make the original space shuttle blush. The seats, both front and rear, feature a “twin-flute” design and include heated, cooled, multi-mode massage, adjustable bolsters, and are extremely customizable to fit each passenger like a tailor-made suit. Customers can also choose Bentley’s new three-dimensional leather, which combines more “traditional stitching” with “embroidery work.”
Launched on the Continental GT, Bentley brought over its Rotating Display for the Flying Spur. The central 12.3-inch infotainment display can rotate and hide away into the dash, revealing either a clock or devoid of anything wood-veneer dash. Bentley calls it a “digital detox.” Customers can also choose to have their Flying Spur fitted with a full-length “glass-to-glass” panoramic sunroof. An Alcantara blind is used to keep the sun away whenever it gets too much and is color-matched to the rest of the interior.
And then there’s the engine.
A machine of the Flying Spur’s caliber deserves only the best, which is why Bentley dropped in a positively nuclear twin-turbocharged W-12. The 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged W-12 engine is the same as in the top-spec Continental GT. Horsepower is rated at 626 and torque at 664 pound-feet, just like the two-door. Equally as prodigious is the Flying Spur’s 207 mph top speed. The W-12 engines are built and then hand-assembled by Bentley’s master craftsmen in Crew and is coupled to an 8-speed dual-clutch transmission from ZF which allows for lightning-fast shifts.
Whereas the last generation Flying Spur split its power with 60-percent going to the front, 40-percent to the rear, the all-new grand tourer has a continuously variable system that will allow full power to be sent directly to the rear wheels. Or, depending on slip, road conditions, and mode preference, the car’s ECU can split the power however it sees fit. According to Bentley, this allowed the company to all-but eliminate understeer; a massive accomplishment given the car’s size.
Further helping the Flying Spur’s agility is the all-new All-Wheel Steering and Torque Vectoring systems. All-wheel steering has been around for some time now, however, it’s been mostly relegated to super sports cars or supercars like Lamborghinis and top-spec Porsches. Now, the system is trickling down throughout Volkswagen’s brands. Under low-speed driving, the all-wheel steering system will point the rear wheels the opposite way the front wheels are turned, effectively shortening the Flying Spur’s wheelbase and decreasing its turning radius. During high-speed driving, they turn in unison to provide better stability. Likewise, according to Bentley, the Flying Spur’s torque-vectoring delivers a more dynamic feel and lets the car turn in quicker.
As for comfort, the new Flying Spur rides on Bentley’s Dynamic Ride system which uses three-chamber air-springs, Continuous Damping Control, electronically controlled anti-swaybars, and ride-height sensors at all four corners that not only deliver a limousine-quality ride but also the firmness customers want if they wish to get saucy around a mountain road. Braking the car are massive iron brakes, the largest ever fitted to a road car.
Tech also comes standard as the Flying Spur is one intelligent limo. The central 12.3-inch display can rotate, just like its Continental GT sibling, and offers drivers a host of Driver Assistance Systems, including, Traffic Assist adaptive cruise control, City Assist, Blind Spot Warning, Night Vision, Head-Up Display, Top View Cameras, Rear Traffic Alert and Self-Parking. Audiophiles can also rejoice as Bentley offers three distinct systems. The standard audio system is a 650-watt, 10-speaker system that most wouldn’t shake a stick at. However, standard isn’t really the company’s repertoire. By dropping what will most likely be a flaming pile of cash onto Bentley’s doorstep will either get you a 1,500-watt, 16-speaker Bang & Olufsen system with illuminated speaker grilles, or a 2,200-watt, 19-speaker system from Naim.
“As with the launch of the Continental GT, the new Flying Spur is a ground-up development that pushes the boundaries of both technology and craftsmanship to deliver segment-defining levels of performance and refinement,” said Adrian Hallmark, Chairman and Chief Executive of Bentley Motors. The all-new Flying Spur can be ordered later this year, with customer deliveries beginning in early 2020. Pricing hasn’t been announced, but given the previous generations six-figure price tag, the newest Flying Spur isn’t going to be cheap.