Bentley Flying Spur!
06-28-05, 01:46 PM
#1
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Bentley Flying Spur!
AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
From AutoWeek...
2006 BENTLEY FLYING SPUR
ON SALE: September
BASE PRICE: $164,990
POWERTRAIN: 6.0-liter, 552-hp, 479-lb-ft twin-turbocharged W12; awd, six-speed automatic
CURB WEIGHT: 5456 pounds
0 TO 60 MPH: 4.9 seconds (mfr.)
When the Bentley EXP Speed 8 flashed across the finish line to win Le Mans in 2003, the motorsports cognoscenti grumbled it was a Bentley in name only, that it was little more than a rebodied version of the all-conquering Audi R8 that had been given to Volkswagen Group’s British sibling. Of course Bentley won—Audi had beaten race competition for years with the same car.
Motoring in the long-awaited, four-door Bentley Flying Spur sedan, that ’03 Le Mans win comes to mind. Why? Because the Flying Spur also borrows heavily from parent Volkswagen.
It was a good thing at the world-famous 24-hour endurance test, and it is a great thing now.
Bentley is one confident automaker. Sales in 2004 were up 447 percent, thanks to a $750 million VW-infused cash investment that allowed Bentley to create both the Continental GT, a car that is a runaway market success, and the Flying Spur.
The Flying Spur is essentially a stretched Continental GT (Aug. 25, 2003) with four doors and more rear seat room. Lots more room: Overall length is 209 inches, 19.7 inches longer than the GT, and at 120.5 inches, the wheelbase is about a foot longer. You can have a six-foot-five-inch driver and a six-foot-eight-inch passenger, and everyone is comfortable.
Dutchman Dirk van Braeckel had the Flying Spur in mind when Bentley turned to the designer to pen both new cars. Like the GT, the easy-on-the-eyes Flying Spur is about British luxury and elegance and, at least with a few days’ scrutiny, build quality that would do Audi proud. It is chock-full of colossal, supercar-like performance.
First shown at Geneva (AW, March 14), the Flying Spur—its name comes from Bentley’s 1950s sedans—uses the Continental GT’s 6.0-liter, twin-turbo, quad-cam W12, an engine that takes up less space than most V8s. Audi supplies the aluminum block to Bentley in Crewe, England, and Bentley’s engine builders do the rest. This engine develops 552 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque, which is sufficient to propel the 5456-pound car to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds and on up to a 195-mph top speed (no electronic speed cutoff—that’s for wimps), making the Bentley the fastest four-door production car available.
The acceleration is awesome—ultra-smooth and instantaneous. It just whooshes. With maximum torque coming at just 1600 rpm, effortless acceleration is only the beginning. Just as impressive as its 0-to-62 time is that it will go from 30 to 50 mph in two seconds and 50 to 70 mph in another two seconds. You begin to see its pull is more like a solid booster-aided launch than anything else.
Like the Continental GT, the Flying Spur rides on a platform based on VW Group’s corporate D1 chassis, also on the Audi A8 and VW Phaeton. Bentley says roughly 25 percent of the parts are from The Family; the rest—adjustable shocks, bushings and the aluminum sub-frame, to name three things—are unique to Bentley.
The Flying Spur’s all-wheel-drive system, which delivers excellent dry-road driveability, mates to a ZF six-speed automatic transmission with paddle-shift controls. The four-link front suspension and trapezoidal multilink rear setup along with electronically adjustable air springs at the corners do a wonderful job planting the car. Once the big sedan gets to 155 mph, the suspension lowers ride height 25 mm (about one inch) for better aerodynamic and handling efficiency. The 15.9-inch front disc brakes and 13s in the rear (same as on the GT, the largest on a production car, says Bentley) stop it with authority. With a car capable of a buck ninety-five sticker, the brakes better be good.
The longer wheelbase aids ride comfort, too. Yes this is a stout car, but unlike some of equivalent heft, there is minimal roll in corners; the body stays controlled and level through the twisty corners, and the ride is not harsh over expansion joints.
We’d hoped for rain to give the all-wheel drive a real flog, but no dice. With the suspension set in sport mode, slicing through the switchbacks in Italy was terrific and, as if it is physically possible, the Flying Spur felt smaller the harder we pushed it.
On a European highway the suspension works best in normal mode; the big cruiser is whisper-quiet at high speeds. Crosswinds, road imperfections? No worries—125 mph feels like 55. There is little thought the car wouldn’t behave equally as well on these shores.
One big improvement is its steering; engineers adjusted the software for better on-center feel. This is much appreciated, especially at high speeds, where some have complained the GT’s steering is too light.
The Spur’s interior is outstanding: gorgeous, comfortable and beautifully built in that industry-leading and virtually flawless VW/Audi tradition. Materials include hand-stitched leather—yes, the headliner, too—wood and metal; the only plastic bits are in places where the occupants can’t see or touch them. The front buckets (heated and cooled, naturally) are coddling and commodious. The rear seating area, where perhaps a few Flying Spur owners will spend time, is also huge. If the Flying Spur weren’t so much fun to drive, it could become the next unofficial limo of the NBA. If you choose to order the four-seat-only configuration, rear seats recline and have lumbar support adjustments.
Cars go on sale in the United States in September and 1200 have already been sold. That’s the allotment for 2005 and part of 2006, so you’re looking at delivery of a 2007 model if you’re not already on the list. Some industry insiders suggest if demand makes it necessary, Flying Spurs will be built at VW’s stunning, glass-walled Phaeton plant in Dresden, Germany. Wouldn’t that take parts sharing to a new level?
By industry standards, and by ultra-luxury standards, the Flying Spur is not over-the-top expensive like a Rolls-Royce or Maybach. For $164,990 you get a sedan that runs with most any car on the planet while cosseting you in comfort.
The question is what’s next for Bentley. The drophead coupe shown at the L.A. auto show will make it to production. After that, don’t be surprised to see a Continental GT convertible. And who knows? With Bentley churning out cash and paying Volkswagen back its investment, maybe a new Arnage will happen, too.
For now the Flying Spur will keep Bentley dealers busy. As Adrian Hallmark, Bentley’s marketing chief, put it, “We are that rare thing in the British automotive world—a car company that is expanding.”
From AutoWeek...
2006 BENTLEY FLYING SPUR
ON SALE: September
BASE PRICE: $164,990
POWERTRAIN: 6.0-liter, 552-hp, 479-lb-ft twin-turbocharged W12; awd, six-speed automatic
CURB WEIGHT: 5456 pounds
0 TO 60 MPH: 4.9 seconds (mfr.)
When the Bentley EXP Speed 8 flashed across the finish line to win Le Mans in 2003, the motorsports cognoscenti grumbled it was a Bentley in name only, that it was little more than a rebodied version of the all-conquering Audi R8 that had been given to Volkswagen Group’s British sibling. Of course Bentley won—Audi had beaten race competition for years with the same car.
Motoring in the long-awaited, four-door Bentley Flying Spur sedan, that ’03 Le Mans win comes to mind. Why? Because the Flying Spur also borrows heavily from parent Volkswagen.
It was a good thing at the world-famous 24-hour endurance test, and it is a great thing now.
Bentley is one confident automaker. Sales in 2004 were up 447 percent, thanks to a $750 million VW-infused cash investment that allowed Bentley to create both the Continental GT, a car that is a runaway market success, and the Flying Spur.
The Flying Spur is essentially a stretched Continental GT (Aug. 25, 2003) with four doors and more rear seat room. Lots more room: Overall length is 209 inches, 19.7 inches longer than the GT, and at 120.5 inches, the wheelbase is about a foot longer. You can have a six-foot-five-inch driver and a six-foot-eight-inch passenger, and everyone is comfortable.
Dutchman Dirk van Braeckel had the Flying Spur in mind when Bentley turned to the designer to pen both new cars. Like the GT, the easy-on-the-eyes Flying Spur is about British luxury and elegance and, at least with a few days’ scrutiny, build quality that would do Audi proud. It is chock-full of colossal, supercar-like performance.
First shown at Geneva (AW, March 14), the Flying Spur—its name comes from Bentley’s 1950s sedans—uses the Continental GT’s 6.0-liter, twin-turbo, quad-cam W12, an engine that takes up less space than most V8s. Audi supplies the aluminum block to Bentley in Crewe, England, and Bentley’s engine builders do the rest. This engine develops 552 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque, which is sufficient to propel the 5456-pound car to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds and on up to a 195-mph top speed (no electronic speed cutoff—that’s for wimps), making the Bentley the fastest four-door production car available.
The acceleration is awesome—ultra-smooth and instantaneous. It just whooshes. With maximum torque coming at just 1600 rpm, effortless acceleration is only the beginning. Just as impressive as its 0-to-62 time is that it will go from 30 to 50 mph in two seconds and 50 to 70 mph in another two seconds. You begin to see its pull is more like a solid booster-aided launch than anything else.
Like the Continental GT, the Flying Spur rides on a platform based on VW Group’s corporate D1 chassis, also on the Audi A8 and VW Phaeton. Bentley says roughly 25 percent of the parts are from The Family; the rest—adjustable shocks, bushings and the aluminum sub-frame, to name three things—are unique to Bentley.
The Flying Spur’s all-wheel-drive system, which delivers excellent dry-road driveability, mates to a ZF six-speed automatic transmission with paddle-shift controls. The four-link front suspension and trapezoidal multilink rear setup along with electronically adjustable air springs at the corners do a wonderful job planting the car. Once the big sedan gets to 155 mph, the suspension lowers ride height 25 mm (about one inch) for better aerodynamic and handling efficiency. The 15.9-inch front disc brakes and 13s in the rear (same as on the GT, the largest on a production car, says Bentley) stop it with authority. With a car capable of a buck ninety-five sticker, the brakes better be good.
The longer wheelbase aids ride comfort, too. Yes this is a stout car, but unlike some of equivalent heft, there is minimal roll in corners; the body stays controlled and level through the twisty corners, and the ride is not harsh over expansion joints.
We’d hoped for rain to give the all-wheel drive a real flog, but no dice. With the suspension set in sport mode, slicing through the switchbacks in Italy was terrific and, as if it is physically possible, the Flying Spur felt smaller the harder we pushed it.
On a European highway the suspension works best in normal mode; the big cruiser is whisper-quiet at high speeds. Crosswinds, road imperfections? No worries—125 mph feels like 55. There is little thought the car wouldn’t behave equally as well on these shores.
One big improvement is its steering; engineers adjusted the software for better on-center feel. This is much appreciated, especially at high speeds, where some have complained the GT’s steering is too light.
The Spur’s interior is outstanding: gorgeous, comfortable and beautifully built in that industry-leading and virtually flawless VW/Audi tradition. Materials include hand-stitched leather—yes, the headliner, too—wood and metal; the only plastic bits are in places where the occupants can’t see or touch them. The front buckets (heated and cooled, naturally) are coddling and commodious. The rear seating area, where perhaps a few Flying Spur owners will spend time, is also huge. If the Flying Spur weren’t so much fun to drive, it could become the next unofficial limo of the NBA. If you choose to order the four-seat-only configuration, rear seats recline and have lumbar support adjustments.
Cars go on sale in the United States in September and 1200 have already been sold. That’s the allotment for 2005 and part of 2006, so you’re looking at delivery of a 2007 model if you’re not already on the list. Some industry insiders suggest if demand makes it necessary, Flying Spurs will be built at VW’s stunning, glass-walled Phaeton plant in Dresden, Germany. Wouldn’t that take parts sharing to a new level?
By industry standards, and by ultra-luxury standards, the Flying Spur is not over-the-top expensive like a Rolls-Royce or Maybach. For $164,990 you get a sedan that runs with most any car on the planet while cosseting you in comfort.
The question is what’s next for Bentley. The drophead coupe shown at the L.A. auto show will make it to production. After that, don’t be surprised to see a Continental GT convertible. And who knows? With Bentley churning out cash and paying Volkswagen back its investment, maybe a new Arnage will happen, too.
For now the Flying Spur will keep Bentley dealers busy. As Adrian Hallmark, Bentley’s marketing chief, put it, “We are that rare thing in the British automotive world—a car company that is expanding.”
06-28-05, 02:07 PM
#2
Lexus Test Driver
The S65 has been dethrowned!!!! Its still a bit faster, but holy crap, for $15,000 less, look at this interior!!!!
[edit: damnit, i spent a good 10 minutes finding and puttin those pics up and it doesn't work!!! Here's the link to the site where they do work....
Click on photo gallery on left side ]
Last edited by Faraaz23; 06-28-05 at 02:10 PM.
06-28-05, 02:11 PM
#3
Speaks French in Russian
Might be a repost, but whatever. Still a great looking vehicle.
I read that this model is NOT a replacement for the Bentley Arnage which many poeple were afraid of at first. This model will be positioned below the Arnage. I think this is a very good move on Bentley's part because even though its very nice looking, it doesnt have that classic Bentley look to it. They are increasing sales, but not totally forgettin where they came from.
Driving down the highway at near 200mph in a big quite 4 door sedan must be awsome.
I read that this model is NOT a replacement for the Bentley Arnage which many poeple were afraid of at first. This model will be positioned below the Arnage. I think this is a very good move on Bentley's part because even though its very nice looking, it doesnt have that classic Bentley look to it. They are increasing sales, but not totally forgettin where they came from.
Driving down the highway at near 200mph in a big quite 4 door sedan must be awsome.
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