ROAD TEST BENTLEY CONTINENTAL FLYING SPUR

completes a thoroughly appealing environment for any long road journey.

The Lure Of The Fast Lane

We’re anxious to discover what this car can do on the open road. Will it shrink around us like the best fullsized powerhouses, or lurch and wallow where the GT remains poised? When the photographer has finished his work, his camera bag, tripod and light-stands look lost in the Spur’s generous boot. Time to climb aboard and explore the rev range.

There is still a key to insert; more a nod to traditionalism than a necessity. Press the button labelled START and there’s a distant explosion you feel through the soles of your feet, as though you’re somewhere near a quarry and they’ve started blasting. That’s the

W12 coming to life, rather more quietly than in the sportier variants of the GT, where the sound is allowed to add to the drama. Somehow, this six-litre engine with a peak output of 552bhp is barely detectable in the first third or even half of the rev counter, so the feeling is not unlike that of an EV: instant response, linear acceleration, near silence. Until you stick it into S for Sport, use the paddles and hang on to each gear.

It is blisteringly quick. Here is where the experience becomes almost indistinguishable from the Continental GT: the steering has enough feel and accuracy to hit every corner’s apex but the four-wheel drive system never shows a hint of losing grip. Understeer, because you went in too fast? Not really – just keep your foot down and the front wheels pull you round. Oversteer, because you booted it too roughly on the way out? No, that would be rather undignified. It just squats down slightly and fires you into the horizon, bellowing like an angry god.

Anyone who’s driven an Arnage, particularly a later more powerful one such as an Arnage R or T will be familiar with that relentless charging acceleration that doesn’t seem to take account of the speed you’re already doing. For instance, 40mph to 70mph is accomplished in a way that suggests it wouldn’t take much longer to romp from 120mph to 150mph. Not that we can discover this in south east England, of course. Does it need to be this fast? Of course not. But it’s great fun, and it has only one downside.

This an effect of the car’s ability to entertain you on fast, twisty roads. You can generate considerable g-forces, both through braking and rocket-ship acceleration but also laterally, thanks to those huge rubber paws and their seemingly endless grip. Forget you’re in a passenger liner and you’ll soon hear squeals of rage from the back seat as you smear your guests against the side windows like spilt coffee. It’s hardly a serious whinge, though. This car is too versatile to complain about for long. It can tick the box for a silent city limousine, for solo entertainment on an A-road blast and for a family holiday in the South of France – 26mpg or even more on the motorway is perfectly possible and the boot, as we’ve discovered, will swallow all your kit.

It's with some regret, then, that we hand it back to Stephen Brown, proprietor of Hanwells. He usually has several such cars in stock (and this one sold before we went to press) ranging from the low £20,000s for the 2005 and 2006 cars with higher mileage to as much as £80,000 for a lovely second- gen example from 2013 onwards. A new Flying Spur now tops £170,000, so a pampered pre-owned example with a full book of stamps is outrageously good value after depreciation like that.

Bentley took so many orders for the Flying Spur in the year after it was launched that Crewe couldn’t keep up with demand, and 1350 had to be built in Germany instead. Go and try one – you’ll soon understand why.

Thanks to: Hanwells of London, hanwells.net or call 0208 567 9729

Specification

2012 Bentley Flying Spur

LENGTH: 5290mm

WIDTH: 1976mm

WEIGHT: 2485kg

ENGINE: W12 turbo

POWER: 552bhp@6100rpm

TORQUE: 479lb ft @1600rpm

TRANSMISSION: 8-speed automatic 0-60MPH: 5s

TOP SPEED: 195mph

ECONOMY: 11/17/26mpg, urban/combined/m-way

COST NEW: from £115,350 (2005) PRICE NOW: c. £38,000 (for a 2012 car)