Here’s the new Bentley Continental Flying Spur – now with more speed!
Bentley has fettled the Continental Flying Spur saloon to create a range-topping Speed version, and as the name suggest it majors on performance as well as opulence. The standard car has also undergone a comprehensive mid-life update.
The new Flying Spur Speed gets the same 6.0-litre W12 engine as the Continental GT Speed coupe, generating 602bhp and catapulting the luxury barge from standstill to 60mph in 4.5 seconds. Claimed top speed is in excess of 200mph, making the new Bentley the fastest production four-door saloon in the world.
Yet despite a raft of dynamic tweaks, 750Nm of torque at only 1,750rpm means the Speed should be capable of wafting along just as effortlessly as its ‘standard’ little brother.
Changes across the Flying Spur range include a new more upright front grille, which sits between newly chromed headlamp surrounds, as well as a subtly reshaped rear bumper.
Inside, cabin ambience is refined by way of sound-deadening acoustic glass, a tri-laminated undertray and a retuned exhaust, leaving customers to enjoy the ear-rattling new 1,100 Watt stereo – which can now be connected to an iPod in the glovebox.
The usual array of new trim and paint options is on offer, including two-tone interior leather and exterior paint hues for the first time.
But the new Speed model will make most of the headlines. The standard car’s new 19-inch alloys are replaced by 20-inch wheels shod in Pirelli P-Zero high performance rubber, and ride height is reduced by 10mm.
Re-tuned speed-sensitive Servotronic steering gives sharper responses, while feel and body control is boosted by stiffer springs and dampers.
The Speed further separates itself from the standard car by way of wider exhaust pipes, distinct front air intakes, a three-spoke sports steering wheel and unique aluminium dashboard inserts.
Both versions are available with Bentley Adaptive Cruise Control, which utilises a sensor in the front grille to monitor the speed of car in front and applies the brakes to maintain a driver-determined time gap.
And to make sure the 2.5 tonne Bentley loses speed as quickly as it gains it, massive fade-free carbon-ceramic brakes can be specified, guaranteed for the life of the car.
We’ll get behind the wheel soon, so keep checking Auto Express online to find out if the new Flying Spur has improved as much as the sum of its new parts.