The 2007 Bentley Continental Flying Spur sedan has a base price of $169,990. The luxurious Bentley Continental Flying Spur looks like just a large, graceful sedan designed for relaxed cruising.
Look again -- it's a fooler because it is the world's fastest sedan, with a 195-mph top speed.
In the lap of ultra-lux
PRICE: $169,990
LIKES: Extraordinarily fast. Luxurious. Good handling. Powerful brakes. All-wheel drive.
DISLIKES: Tiny fuel and engine temperature gauges. Marginal fuel economy.
Low-volume, big-money cars such as Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Maserati and Aston Martin were built several decades ago by small, individual outfits. Those cars were exclusive, but also troublesome. They had all sorts of flaws because their producers lacked money to make them completely right.
Then the smaller companies got absorbed by auto giants, which concentrated on eliminating faults because buyers could increasingly choose from a wider variety of prestigious, more reliable autos.
Bentley was bought by Europe's largest car producer, Volkswagen, in 1998. BMW got the Rolls-Royce nameplate. Ford bought Aston Martin, and so on. The exclusive cars remained exclusive, but they were vastly improved because their new parent companies poured money into their development.
Bentley was a sporty, race-winning car at the famous 24-hour race at Le Mans, France, where it won again in 2003.
Always big and powerful, the Bentley was a favorite of wealthy British playboys in the 1920s. Rolls-Royce bought Bentley in 1931 when Bentley encountered financial problems. The result was that, for a long time, Bentleys were essentially just Rolls-Royces with a different grille. They were bought by those who didn't want to appear too ostentatious in a car with the Rolls grille.
However, by the 1950s, Bentley offered a few fast, sporty models such as the R-Type Continental coupe and Flying Spur sedan.
The current Flying Spur takes its name from the 1950s model and is essentially a longer, four-door version of the gorgeous Bentley Continental GT coupe, which really put Bentley on the U.S. map when introduced several years ago. Both models were developed at the same time and are built in a modern facility by craftsmen in Crewe, England.
The Flying Spur can do 0-60 mph in 4.9 seconds and 0-100 mph in 11.3 seconds. That's extraordinary for a luxury sedan that weighs nearly 5,500 pounds. Only a few smaller, less luxurious sedans can top the Flying Spur's performance.
Any car with this Bentley's top speed and acceleration must have unusually good steering, a superb suspension and enormous brakes. Steering is precise and nicely weighted, a computer-controlled air spring suspension provides a firm, supple ride, and the brake pedal has a nice linear action. A standard high-tech all-wheel-drive system also helps stability.
Too bad run-flat tires aren't offered, because my test car's left front tire suffered a blow-out from road debris. Bentley says run-flats aren't offered for the Flying Spur because they would hurt the ride and that none could be developed for such a heavy car with a 195-mph top speed.
The Flying Spur naturally costs a lot, especially if it has a lush-life, handcrafted interior and the attention to detail not found with lesser cars. The Flying Spur thus has a $169,990 list price. My test car actually cost $191,545 with options, a $3,700 gas guzzler tax and a $2,595 destination charge.
Among the most costly extras was an $8,940 oddly named "Mulliner Driving Specification" package. It includes diamond quilted and indented coverings for seats and interior doors and enormous 20-inch, seven-spoke alloy sports wheels with huge, wide tires. And, oh, let's not forget the $2,140 veneered picnic tables that fold out from the rear of the front seats.
The handsome Flying Spur is massive, but aerodynamic. Still, nothing this big can reach 195 mph without an exceptional engine. The Flying Spur has a twin-turbocharged 6-liter engine with 12 cylinders, four camshafts and 48 valves. It generates 552 horsepower and enough torque to almost throw a driver out the rear window if he steps on it hard.
While a powerhouse, the engine is smooth, docile and quiet. Its exhaust system emits a subdued burble at idle that makes it sound as if it means business.
The responsive six-speed automatic transmission can be left in fully automatic mode, but used as a clutchless manual gearbox with either the gearshift lever or steering wheel paddles.
The classic British leather-and-wood interior has limousine-style rear-seat room. There's plenty of space for five tall adults with the full-width rear seat. But the Flying Spur also can be ordered as a four-seater, with two power rear seats divided by a console.
An exquisite small analog clock is on the dashboard, but the fuel and engine temperature gauges are too small to read quickly. Also, some controls are overly complex. And the start/stop button for the engine seems superfluous, considering that one must insert a key in a dashboard switch before the button can be activated.
Drivers might want to keep an eye on the fuel gauge because estimated economy is 11 mpg in the city and 18 on highways. Considering the car's weight and power, it could be worse. Besides, it's doubtful that many Flying Spur owners drive the car on a daily basis, although they easily could.
The Flying Spur is a good blend of modern technology and Old World craftsmanship. Those 1920s British playboys would love it.
VIDEO: Jill's bloopers
