Bentley Flying Spur Speed review

Can new drivetrain lift Crewe’s super-saloon to even greater heights?

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The best saloon in the world? That's the question posed by the new Bentley Flying Spur Speed after the adoption of a new hybridised V8 engine.

This allows for greater efficiency to be added to the car's repertoire, on top of all of the other qualities that have made it great.

The introduction of the new V8 drivetrain has come about following the demise of the W12 engine due to emissions regulations. That V8 has already made a stellar debut in the Bentley Continental GT Speed.

It now lifts straight into the Flying Spur and this Speed launch variant, and aims to replicate both the famed torque of the old 6.0-litre W12 unit and perhaps more pertinently the refinement and lack of stress it operated under.

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DESIGN & STYLING

Bentley Flying Spur review 2024 02 front tracking

While plenty of the technology under the skin is all-new, visually, there's very little to tell the new Bentley Flying Spur apart from the old one. There are subtle tweaks to the grille, bumpers and bodykit styling, as well as new wheels. 

To that end, Bentley has not chosen to give the new Flying Spur the same new look as the new Continental GT Speed, which ditched the four headlights at the front for a more modern dual offering. The official reason is that the Flying Spur is a car that’s newer than the Continental GT, and doesn’t need such a visual upgrade. 

The grille has been changed to accommodate the sensors from the automated driving functions that have been added to the car.
Mark Tisshaw
Editor

It’s a shame it doesn’t get one, as the new Continental GT Speed looks so sharp, yet at least the Flying Spur has a look all of its own, even if it is a dated one compared to how hi-tech the car has become underneath the surface. 

For while the platform remains the same Volkswagen Group MSB architecture that's also found beneath the Porsche Panamera, the fitment of such an advanced hybrid drivetrain with a large battery has necessitated a new electronic architecture, which has completely overhauled the software running the car and allowed for a new air conditioning system and ADAS automated driving functions, too.

New in parts, let's say, based on the spec sheet. 

INTERIOR

Bentley Flying Spur review 2024 04 driving

The interior remains luxuriously trimmed and oh-so comfortable but given the technology advancements elsewhere keeping the exact same interior architecture is a missed opportunity, and the Flying Spur does feel dated in its design next to the newest Mercedes-Benz and BMW premium models.

Given the Flying Spur Speed has a good few years of service in it ahead, that’s a concern, even more so as Bentley typically updates its models less frequently than the industry norm. 

Bentley offers 22 different primary hide colours inside and 11 secondary ones. There are eight wood veneer options plus three "technical finishes” and painted options.
Mark Tisshaw
Editor

There are simply no major differences between the previous Flying Spur and this new version, save for some new trim options that feel like the kind that are introduced with model year updates, such as dark chrome and some new quilted leather trim.

It’s a good job there starting position is so strong, for it remains a nice interior to sit in and use. While a central 12.3in touchscreen that can rotate away out of view does plenty of the heavy lifting (wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto feature), there are lots of physical switches retained on the centre console for the likes of the heating and ventilation as well as key shortcut buttons beneath the screen itself.

Two different rear cabin configurations are offered: a two-seater with a large rear centre console between the rear passengers or what Bentley calls a 2+1 seating configuration, with two large rear seats and a smaller central one you wouldn’t want to sit in for anything other than short journeys. 

The 20-way adjustable seats have an optional ‘wellness function’ that are claimed to reduce fatigue by heating and cooling, and lightly altering your posture in an active way, all with the goal of reducing fatigue. It’s hard to say if they work or not given the seat is comfortable anyway, but even after hundreds of miles behind the wheel you do feel refreshed. It’s a supremely comfortable car for sure. 

Rear legroom is excellent and the rear cabin remains a nice place to be. 

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

Bentley Flying Spur review 2024 15 engine

The driveline mixes a 591bhp 4.0-litre V8 engine with a 188bhp electric motor that’s housed within the eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox, driving all four wheels.

The combined peak output is a whopping 771bhp and torque is 738lb ft, both figures that eclipse the 626bhp and 664lb ft of the W12 to make the new Flying Spur Speed to be the most powerful Bentley saloon yet made.

Among three sound system options is a 2200w, 18-speaker offering from Naim
Mark Tisshaw
Editor

Perhaps an even greater development is with the efficiency: the hybrid system uses a substantial 25.9kWh battery that’s bigger than that of the original Nissan Leaf’s. It allows for an all-electric and therefore zero emissions range of 47 miles, while the official combined economy is 202mpg.

Set off in the car and you quickly realise things have changed quite dramatically. That's because you'll typically set off in silent, electric-only power which suits the car very well indeed and works very well around town.

You can specifically select EV mode and the car will stay in it at speeds of up to 87mph below 75% throttle. The silence does open up the cabin to more tyre roar on noisier surfaces, however, yet on the right road it's whisper quiet.

Drive it with the V8 engine involved and it's an altogether different proposition. It’s so fast, so dramatic that you wonder if you’re in something that can be so civilised at the same time.

In Sport mode (there are also Comfort and a middle ground Bentley mode) the car feels at its most alive, playful on the throttle and able to pick up speed almost instantaneously even when you’ve got a shift on.

RIDE & HANDLING

Bentley Flying Spur review 2024 18 rear cornering

The Flying Spur Speed can do the luxury saloon role as well as anything, with excellent comfort levels particularly in the Comfort mode but these are still to an extent maintained even in the firmer Sport mode. As is typical with adjustable driving modes, the default Bentley mode finds the happiest middle ground. 

This increased dynamic bandwidth is down to some new suspension hardware that includes dual-valve dampers.

Four-wheel steering makes the Flying Spur Speed far better at low-speed manoeuvring than it has any right to be.
Mark Tisshaw
Editor

The extra 200kg over a previous W12 is altogether well hidden, and while the battery being in the boot may rob luggage capacity to almost comical levels - a Renault Clio has more luggage capacity, and its almost a third shorter in length than the Bentley - it does put more weight over the rear for a more rear-biassed weight distribution.

In this mode, there is a deftness in its handling that also belies its mighty 2.6-tonne-plus mass; it feels more dynamic than the W12 model before it, while also riding better, too. And done in a way that makes the car feel sporting rather than sporty, and even at its most uncivilised it still feels civilised. 

Given the broad brief that the Flying Spur Speed has to live up to, that it has no major dynamic weakness and no obvious compromise in the way it drives is a credit to Bentley. 

MPG & RUNNING COSTS

Bentley Flying Spur review 2024 01 front tracking

If you have to ask, you probably can’t afford it, so the saying goes. But it’s £226,500, for the record, although by the time you add the kinds of custom options Bentley owners do then it soon shoots upwards from there.

For now, the range is simply Speed and Mulliner models from launch but expect a less powerful V8 hybrid model to follow that’ll simply be called Bentley Flying Spur. The differences between Speed and Mulliner are all in how they are trimmed.

The official economy figure of 202mpg is to taken with a pinch of salt given the parameters of the WLTP test, yet on short journeys you’ll be able to travel solely on electric power and on longer ones you’ll have a more efficient drivetrain; high 30mpgs real-world are spoken of by engineers, although on faster roads we were seeing mid-high 20mpgs instead. It’s still a near 800bhp super-saloon, after all… 

As for the electric range, around 35 miles seems to be what you end up with, down on the official 47-mile range. Yet around town you can easily recuperate the battery even if the regenerative braking isn’t ever as strong as you’d think it should be. 

VERDICT

Bentley Flying Spur review 2024 20 front static

The best saloon in the world, then? The new Flying Spur Speed is now more rounded than ever, and at its very best it’s very good indeed.

The ride quality has been improved and the handling also feels more engaging. The V8 sounds better than the old W12 and feels more urgent everywhere, while also maintaining excellent refinement. The ability to run on electric power is a boon, too. 

The problem with making such comprehensive updates in some areas leaves the untouched ones feeling left behind, and to that end the exterior styling and interior deserve and perhaps now need their own makeover, too, as the advancements elsewhere make them feel dated.

So while the Flying Spur Speed is an improvement on the old car, and has been made better, it could have been made even better again. 

Mark Tisshaw

mark-tisshaw-autocar
Title: Editor

Mark is a journalist with more than a decade of top-level experience in the automotive industry. He first joined Autocar in 2009, having previously worked in local newspapers. He has held several roles at Autocar, including news editor, deputy editor, digital editor and his current position of editor, one he has held since 2017.

From this position he oversees all of Autocar’s content across the print magazine, autocar.co.uk website, social media, video, and podcast channels, as well as our recent launch, Autocar Business. Mark regularly interviews the very top global executives in the automotive industry, telling their stories and holding them to account, meeting them at shows and events around the world.

Mark is a Car of the Year juror, a prestigious annual award that Autocar is one of the main sponsors of. He has made media appearances on the likes of the BBC, and contributed to titles including What Car?, Move Electric and Pistonheads, and has written a column for The Sun.