Not that I’m implying you can’t afford a Bentley if you wanted one, of course. It’s just that the Bentley Continental Flying Spur operates in a very rarefied segment of the market, and the folks who are thinking about buying one are familiar enough with ’em already.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that I’m going to pass up my chance to see what the fuss is all about. The Continental Flying Spur fits into Bentley’s lineup as the "entry-level" sedan, assuming you can use that term to define a $194,000 car. It’s less pricey than the products from Bentley’s traditional competition over at Rolls-Royce and Maybach (the Bentley Arnage is the high-dollar sedan that does battle with those storied nameplates). The Continental Flying Spur brings Bentley’s hand-built magnificence and luxury-sporting heritage to the upper-echelon sports sedan market.
This same paradox of a more affordable, super-premium car has served Bentley well. The Continental GT hit the streets in 2004 and has since become one of the brand’s most recognizable products. Designed at the same time as the coupe version, the Continental Flying Spur is effectively a four-door version of that coupe, and shares the Continental GT’s distinctive look. Flush-mounted quad headlights and chrome crosshatch grille give the bumper-less front end a modern, streamlined face; the high waistline emphasizes the car’s size and solidity. The heavy C-pillar is streamlined and inspired by classic Bentleys. 19" wheels are standard, and look just right under the massive body.
The smooth and modern exterior contrasts with the interior, which strongly resembles that of classic Bentleys. Atmosphere is everything, of course; thick wood trim and chrome-ringed individual gauges are part of the Bentley atmosphere. Most of the Continental Flying Spur’ amenities - leather, navigation system, rain-sensing wipers, power trunk lid, heated and cooled seats, even the indirect LED "mood" lighting - can be found in other luxury cars. What gives this car a right to its six-figure price tag is the way it feels. The Continental Flying Spur is built by hand, and it feels like a finely tuned piece of equipment. The leather is hand-stitched, and the wood can be hand-selected should you choose to lay down your cash for one. The Continental Flying Spur is designed to be a high-speed, rolling boardroom, and it feels the part. The big Barcalounger-like seats and doors are upholstered in old-school pleated leather, and the glass is double-paned for maximum isolation from the outside world. On the road it’s preternaturally quiet. Five-passenger seating is standard; there’s also a four-passenger version with a large console and ancillary controls in the center. Our Continental Flying Spur even featured a champagne refrigerator between the rear seats.
Bentleys have always been performance cars, and in spite of its size, the Continental Flying Spur is definitely that. There’s a 6.0 liter, twin-turbocharged twelve-cylinder engine under the hood, twisting out 552 effortless horsepower. Four-cam, 48-valve construction and variable valve timing ensure relatively efficient operation and boost power delivery. Bentley’s signature quality is torque, and the Continental Flying Spur produces it in a single, massive wave that never seems to end. Where other cars - even many performance cars - run out of steam, somewhere in triple digits, the 6.0 W12 is still pulling, and pulling hard. Attempting to reach the Continental Flying Spur’s limits on public roads is suicidal.
It feels solid on the road, like a three-ton car should. The Continental Flying Spur is massive without being ponderous. It’s also geared to launch like a cannon. The six-speed automatic transmission can be shifted manually with paddles on the steering wheel and is tough enough to handle having 479 foot-pounds of torque dumped into it, and shifts smoothly. It’s top-end biased, with stronger acceleration in the higher gears than down low. All-wheel drive is standard as well, and makes for stable acceleration as well as excellent bad-weather stability. Not that you’d take your Continental Flying Spur out in bad weather.
The self-levelling air suspension can be adjusted for height and stiffness. The Continental Flying Spur rides like a luxury car should, using a four-link independent front suspension with a trapezoidal multi-link rear. Unsprung weight is reduced by the use of aluminum subframes and suspension components. There’s a bit of tautness to the ride, courtesy of the low-profile 275/40 R19 tires. There’s stiffness from the suspension, but not a hint of noise. The suspension’s reflexes are up to the task of making this massive sedan (it’s only a couple of inches shorter than a Chevrolet Suburban) feel like it’s riding on rails. Even at high speeds, the Continental Flying Spur responds quickly to commands. Since it’s capable of ludicrous speeds, it’s blessed with equally impressive brakes as well. The front brakes are among the biggest on any car, anywhere. This means that it’s not hard to haul the big Bentley to a stop after you’ve been going twice the speed limit.
At this price range, a vehicle must necessarily be more than the sum of its parts. There’s only so much that a car can do, from an objective standpoint. The Bentley succeeds, though - it’s clearly a special vehicle in the eyes of everyone who sees it, and while on paper its amenities look to be the same as what you’d find in a Mercedes S Class or Lexus LS 460, the Continental Flying Spur’s hand-built feel and unique interior appointments clearly set it apart. The shattering performance doesn’t hurt, either. The base price of $169,990 truly doesn’t feel wasted. Even with the Mulliner driving specification and additional options in my test car - champagne cooler, heated steering wheels, special stitching and more - the final sticker of $194,185 still seems to be reasonable. And to make a six-figure price tag seem "reasonable," you’re talking about a special piece of machinery indeed.
