Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed Series 51 Review & Road Test (2011) Part 3

Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed Interior

In the last part of our review & road test of the Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed, we ask who would buy this M5 for a plutocrat?

Who will buy the Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed? It seems a fair question.

For the keen driver there is no comparison between the regular Flying Spur and the Flying Spur Speed. The lowered suspension, stiffer bushes, more rewarding steering and a full 600bhp under your right foot make the Speed the must-have.

But how many people want just one car to do everything when they can afford to spend £154k (without options – another £20k more with them on this car)? The cost of this Bentley Flying Spur Speed is such that you could – just about – grab a DB9 and a top-end Range Rover for similar money.

And what if, as we expect is the case for many a Flying Spur owner, you spend much of your time in the back of the car? For then, the regular Flying Spur offers a quieter and more comfortable ride for a base price of just £133k.

So Bentley is catering to a very small potential market. The Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed is really an M5 for the properly well-off. A car that has all the opulence you could want to find this side of proper bespoke, but with as much performance and road-crushing ability dialled in as is possible without destroying the fundamentals of the car.

“The Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed is really an M5 for the properly well-off. A car that has all the opulence you could want to find this side of properly bespoke.”

In fact, we’d go so far as to say that the Flying Spur Speed gloriously encapsulates the ethos of the original Bentley Boys. They sought the ultimate performance from their cars, and took the beautifully engineered and sumptuously appointed cars of W.O. and bolted on great big superchargers to yield incredible performance.

In the 21^st century, that is what VW has done with the Flying Spur Speed. They’ve created a Bentley limousine with the ability to crush a 911. What the Bentley Boys did to W.O.’s cars eventually lead to the demise of Bentley and its sale to Rolls Royce. What VW has done to the Flying Spur Speed has shown that, despite the Luddite detractors, Bentley, under VW, can produce a world-class car with world class performance. Its mere existence makes Bentley stronger.

The Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed is, quite simply, an epic car.