New Bentley Flying Spur arrives in Bentley’s centenary year

The new Bentley Flying Spur arrives in Bentley’s centenary year as Bentley takes the Continental GT and turns it in to the new Bentley super saloon.

The latest Bentley Continental GT is a big improvement over the old Continental GT, so taking the underpinnings from it and using them to deliver the new Bentley Flying Spur promises to have made Bentley’s ‘not quite a Mulsanne’ something rather special.

Designed and developed in Crewe, the new Flying Spur takes the looks of the old model, and those of the Conti, and melds them together in a handsome and imposing luxury car.

The new Flying Spur is just 17mm longer than the old model, but Bentley has managed to stretch the wheelbase by 130mm, instantly delivering more space without making an already enormous car even more enormous.

Up front there’s a big vertical slat grille – a nod to the S1 – with new crystal-cut LED headlights and that retractable Flying B we’ve already seen.

Inside is almost entirely Continental GT – and it doesn’t get much better than that – complete with digital instrument cluster, revolving centre screen, masses of wood and leather and chrome and even 3D leather.

Under the bonnet is Bentley’s 626bhp 6.0 litre W12 with a massive 663lb/ft of torque, sending power to all four wheels through an eight-speed auto ‘box and hustling the big Flying Spur to 62mph in just 3.8 seconds and on to 207mph.

The new four-wheel drive can send up to 100 per cent of torque to the back wheels with torque vectoring, there’s all-wheel steering for easier manoeuvring at low speed and more stability at high speeds and three-chamber suspension to deliver the right ride all the time.

First customer deliveries of the new Flying Spur won’t arrive until early 2020, and expect pries to start from around £180k.