ROAD TEST 2022 BENTLEY FLYING SPUR V8…AND 1990 TURBO R
RAPID PROGRESS We spent a few days with Bentley’s current generation Flying Spur to see if the V8 model delivers the ultimate blend of driver focused appeal and rear-seat luxury WORDS: PHIL WEEDEN
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t’s hard to imagine that it’s 40 years since Bentley first strapped a turbocharger to its luxury saloon to create the Mulsanne Turbo. It’s been over 20 years since Bentley became part of the VW family and it’s 16 years since the Flying Spur was introduced, back in 2006. Here we are about to sample the new V8-powered, third generation Flying
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PHOTOS: GREGORY OWAIN
Spur, a sporting prestige saloon that moves the game on even further. While change can often be unsettling, there is no question the evolution at Crewe has been steady, logical and utterly effective. At £160,000, the Flying Spur is not cheap (our example actually topped out at £201,300 with optional extras) but then you wouldn’t expect it to be. Luxury comes at a price.
The aim of the new 4.0-litre twin turbo V8 Flying Spur is to create a more driver focused package than the W12 model; to build a sporting saloon with a hybrid personality; a car that can hustle a B-road and glide effortlessly along a motorway; entertaining yet refined whether you’re in the driver’s seat, or safely cocooned in the luxuriously appointed rear cabin. To achieve such
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