Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed
Prices: £137,000 – on the road
Insurance Group: 20
Emissions: 396g/km
Performance: [Flying Spur] Max Speed 195mph / 0-60mph 4.9s
Fuel Consumption: [Flying Spur] (combined) 17mpg
Safety: Twin front, curtain & side airbags / ABS / stability control
Dimensions: Length/Width/ Height mm 5290/ 2118/1475mm

THE NAME OF THE GAME

Our Rating: 8.1 / 10

In Speed form, Bentley’s Continental Flying Spur has pace and panache to burn. Steve Walker reports.

Bentley doesn’t make ordinary motorcars, this much we know, but some are still less ordinary than others. For those customers who find that a 552bhp Continental Flying Spur isn’t quite enough, Bentley have a ready made solution in the imposing form of the 600bhp Continental Flying Spur Speed. As you can probably imagine, it lives up to its name.

The Speed models in the Bentley range aren’t merely an exercise in pushing back horsepower boundaries. They’re designed to tighten up the package and shunt the whole thing in a sportier and more dynamic direction. These are still Bentleys and customers would never be handed the keys to something that fell below the highest standards of comfort and refinement but there’s room within the marque’s luxury car vision for something a tad naughtier and the Speed is it. There are Speed versions of all the Continental models so that’s GT coupe, GTC convertible and the car we feature here, the grandly titled Flying Spur saloon.

Some fast cars snarl, others roar, a few scream but models fitted with the Bentley twin-turbo V12 tend to whoosh. It’s not purely an acoustic thing, although the Flying Spur is comparatively gentle on the eardrums even when gaining speed like a baby grand tossed from a 12th floor window. It’s more to do with the irresistible force that takes over when the throttle is fully stomped. The Flying Spur Speed is a 2,500kg car but the engine’s power (600bhp at 6,000rpm) and torque (750Nm at 1,750rpm) act upon it like it’s a balsawood model. The 0-60mph sprint takes 4.5s and standstill to 100mph is a 10.5s task. The Speed derivatives also feature revised springs and dampers to sharpen the handling, a weightier steering system and 19" wheels fitted with Pirelli UHP tyres.

It feels slightly disrespectful to fling the blue-blooded Bentley down a tightly twisting B-road and even with its tauter set-up, the Speed model doesn’t feel particularly at home in such a scenario: few luxury saloon cars do. It’s a more enjoyable drive than the standard Flying Spur, producing a closer connection between driver and road, but it still feels like a very big saloon car when asked to corner fast and change direction quickly. The air suspension and the silky smooth gearbox with its surprisingly flimsy and poorly located paddle shifters do their best to smooth out the experience and if you take the hint and take things a bit easier, the Flying Spur Speed really shines. It’s a car that covers ground seriously quickly and on open roads where it can get into its stride, it’s nothing short of imperious.

There’s a whole range of styling features designed to separate the Continental Flying Spur Speed from the standard model. The grilles are in a dark tinted chrome and the exhausts are larger. Inside, the old-school wood gives way to metallic detailing and the leather seat facings and door inserts are in a diamond quilted design. Drilled alloy pedals, a three-spoke sports steering wheel and ‘Speed’ tread plates on the door sills also feature. Overall the cabin is a fantastic place to be and goes further than any other aspect of the car to justify its premium over a top line Mercedes-Benz S-Class or BMW 7-Series. It feels special and no detail has been left to chance.

It’s said that Bentley’s designers even took a tape measure to a team of New York basketball players to ensure that headroom is acceptable even to those at the extremes of the morphological scale. The Flying Spur can be specified with three seats across the back or a rather cosier two seat configuration with a beautifully finished centre console.

Even with the Speed upgrades, the exterior isn’t particularly striking. Rather than being an afterthought, the saloon was designed alongside the Cont