Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed

Source: Exec Digital UK

Date :22/09/2008 10:51:50

A high-powered experience one moment and a calming conveyance the next; the Flying Spur marries power and agility making thoroughfare ubiquity

By Paul Pearce-Couch

If you need any proof that Bentley has confounded its critics, look no further than the end of your nose. The company’s Continental GT coupe and Flying Spur saloon are everywhere. While not in Ford Focus numbers, for cars costing six-figures they are a reassuringly frequent sight.

Such has been the popularity of the company’s cars, the Crewe-based firm has record production figures. And when people with money but not a lot of time are prepared to wait for your wares, you know you’re doing something right.

Put to one side the Continental GT’s enormous popularity for one moment, because it’s worth noting that the Flying Spur is also pulling in the crowds. It may sell less overall than the GT but it’s directed at a different sort of person. Nevertheless, research has shown that buyers like to drive as much as to be driven. With that in mind, the awfully nice chaps at Crewe have not just sharpened up the Flying Spur but also introduced a performance variant – the Flying Spur Speed.

THE DESIGN

Of course there’s no such thing as a ‘regular’ Bentley, and even the standard Flying Spur is hard to ignore. The car’s imposing, solid and refined stance has been enhanced by way of a more upright grille, a reshaped front bumper and air intakes plus chrome headlamp detailing and similar changes at the rear. Riding on a new design of 19-inch wheels the Flying Spur remains a well proportioned design.

The mechanical changes are equally subtle but no less important. Retuned power steering delivers a more direct feeling through the helm, the car’s ESP system has been tweaked to offer the enthusiastic driver more leeway, new Pirelli tyres boost comfort (as does the acoustic glass and greater underbody sound proofing) and road holding, an the optional radar cruise control unit can bring you to a complete stop and, when combined with 20-inch wheels, carbon ceramic brakes complete the measured improvements.

As with all Bentleys the ability to customise the car is one of the main attractions to the brand. With this revised Flying Spur the number of set factory options has been increased – be it the exterior colour of the leather and cabin trim.

But what of the Flying Spur Speed? Boasting 600bhp from its 12-cylinder engine (the Flying Spur’s output is unchanged at 552bhp), this really is a car for the enthusiast. Sales of the GT Speed have shown that demand is considerable for such a concept, making the idea of 200mph Flying Spur capable of reaching 60mph in 4.6 seconds both entertaining and jaw-dropping at the same time.

Further tweaks to the car’s front air intakes and tailpipes are the immediate giveaway. The appearance of 20-inch wheels a 10mm lower ride height plus a retuned steering and ESP complete the picture. Inside, there’s a sporty-looking three-spoke steering wheel plus diamond quilted upholstery and the option of a bright or dark tinted fascia panel.

DOCILE BEAST

Conventional descriptions struggle in the face of cars with 600-odd horsepower, even more so when the car in question is a four-door saloon more commonly associated with serene journeys to the likes of Ascot or a royal garden party. That said, the Speed is a docile beast when driven gently and the fact that it boasts a lowered ride height plus those 20-inch wheels is not obvious to occupants when driving through urban areas.

The Flying Spur Speed’s abilities become more obvious once you leave the confines of the city limit. The deep bellow from the car’s tailpipes is an obvious giveaway as to the car’s potential, with the boom-boom-boom on the overrun when you lift off the throttle guaranteed to make passengers smile.

Bentley’s big bruiser is capable of so much more though, and the car’s ability to accelerate rapidly from rest or when overtaking slower traffic is nothing short of mesmerising. A deep growl, a slight lift of the nose and you’re gone – into the next postcode, state or continent if you’re not careful.

And yet, far from being a handful the Speed is an engaging and enjoyable car to drive briskly. Its vast reserves of power and torque make ‘pressing on’ easy, while the six-speed auto gearbox shifts smoothing and predictably – sometimes making the manual faculty, complete with paddle shift controls, redundant. Performing the colossal task of slowing the car down, the Speed’s brakes never fail to impress with their ability to resist fade and always feel progressive in their actions.

For all the mechanical highlights, the simple fact is that the Flying Spur Speed shouldn’t be able to do what it does. Its agile character and ability to excite and reward the keen driver might be its trump card, but its ability to successfully combine those talents with its limousine role is what’s really impressive.

A supercar-rivalling experience one moment and a calming, get-me-to-the-opera type conveyance the next, the Flying Spur Speed is both exhilarating and calming in equal measure.