New Bentley Flying Spur V8 arrives for the more enthusiastic Bentley driver

The new Bentley Flying Spur V8 arrives promising a more involving drive for enthusiastic drivers from its 541bhp V8 engine.

The new Bentley Flying Spur arrived last year as Bentley took all that was good and improved in the new Continental GT and applied it to the new Flying Spur, including its W12 powerplant.

Now, just as in the previous iteration of the Flying Spur, Bentley has taken the impressive V8 engine from the GT and planted it in to the Flying Spur to deliver a Flying Spur V8 promising to add to the joy of driving for those who prefer the driver’s seat – at least some of the time – to languishing in the back.

With 541bhp and 568lb/ft of torque, the V8 may be a bit down on the W12, but it can still hit 62mph in 4.1 seconds on its way to 198mph and, say Bentley, deliver a more driver-centric experience than the W12.

Weight drops in the V8 by 100kg, economy and emissions improve, four cylinders can be deactivated seamlessly under light loads, there’s adaptive air suspension and torque vectoring, and if you don’t mind spending a bit more you can have four-wheel steering and electric anti-roll bars too.

Inside it’s much the same as the W12, there’s a choice (unless you want to spend much more) of seven exterior colours and you can have a Blackline trim to turn the chrome trim dark.

The new V8 Flying Spur is now on sale, with first deliveries before the end of the year.