Published: 9th June 2008The new Bentley Continental Flying Spur is set to deliver even greater levels of refinement, comfort and opportunities for customer personalisation. The class-leading 12-cylinder luxury saloon will also be joined by the 600 bhp (610PS) Continental Flying Spur Speed. The most powerful 4-door car ever produced by the British manufacturer, the Flying Spur Speed offers the pure driving experience and uncompromising performance synonymous with all Bentleys bearing the Speed legend.
The Continental Flying Spur has been an extraordinary success story for Bentley since its launch in 2005. Its unrivalled combination of exciting performance, luxury, craftsmanship, style and four-door practicality has broadened the appeal of the Continental range. The Flying Spur has become the most successful 12-cylinder luxury saloon in the world and has played a pivotal role in the revitalisation of Bentley.
The instantly recognisable style of the Flying Spur undergoes a subtle evolution with changes to the front and rear design. The new, more upright grille and bolder lower air intake accentuate the distinctive Bentley profile, while the new rear bumper delivers a more aggressive and sleek appearance.
A comprehensive range of noise-absorbent measures including acoustic glazing, tri-laminate body undertrays and wheelarch liners ensure that cabin refinement, already a hallmark of the Continental Flying Spur, is best in class.
The new Flying Spur may now be specified with a sophisticated follow-to-stop, radar-based Adaptive Cruise Control system, which monitors traffic ahead and manages the throttle and brakes to maintain a pre-set time gap, up to a driver selected set speed.
As a further option, the new Naim for Bentley audio system provides the world’s best in-car sound stage. Designed exclusively for Bentley by Naim, the renowned British hi-fi manufacturer, the system features an 1100 Watt amplifier, the most powerful unit offered in a production car, and 15 custom-built Naim speakers, including dual Naim sub-woofers. The next-generation Digital Signal Processor further enhances the listening experience.
The aluminium-intensive suspension of the Flying Spur features revised spring and dampers and a new bespoke 19-inch Pirelli UHP tyre for outstanding levels of ride quality, comfort and refinement.
Bentley’s commitment to the highest quality of craftsmanship and customer personalisation is highlighted with an enhanced choice of beautifully crafted wood marquetry and chrome inlays. In addition, seat piping, a traditional Bentley feature, is introduced on Flying Spur together with two new hide colours. Three new colours and four duo-tone paint combinations are added to the exterior paint palette.
The 600bhp Continental Flying Spur Speed unleashes the same potent performance and intense levels of driver engagement as its highly acclaimed stablemate, the Continental GT Speed.
Inspired by Bentley’s legendary ‘Speed’ models that first appeared in 1923, the Flying Spur Speed offers a range of headline performance figures including a 0-60mph sprint time of 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 200mph.
A lowered ride height, uprated and redesigned suspension as well as retuned steering deliver outstanding agility and body control. Exceptional grip comes from the unique 9.5Jx20 multi-spoke alloy wheels with bespoke Pirelli P-Zero UHP performance tyres.
The Flying Spur Speed is distinguished by subtle design cues which emphasise its performance credentials, including dark-tinted radiator and air intake grilles, wider rifled exhaust tail pipes and unique 20-inch multi-spoke alloy wheels.
Bentley Chairman and Chief Executive, Dr Franz-Josef Paefgen explains the rationale behind the new range:
“The global success of the Continental Flying Spur has created a new generation of Bentley owners. Responding to their feedback, we have refined an already remarkable car and with the debut of the Flying Spur Speed we are extending its appeal.”
Blast from the past: Bentley Hunaudières concept
Posted 07 Oct 2008Less than a year after being purchased by Volkswagen for the princely sum of £430 million, Bentley Motors created one of the most breathtaking and technical masterpieces in the automotive world. The Bentley Hunaudières Project, as it was known, was developed to proclaim to the world that Bentley was not just a manufacturer of ultra-luxury limousines. Instead it would showcase that the small automaker from Crewe was capable of being modern and dynamic, with serious sporting intentions behind its label.
Revealed to the masses at the Geneva Motorshow in 1999, the Hunaudières laid the groundwork for the popular Continental GT. Under the smooth, green exterior resided an 8.0-litre, mid-mounted W16 engine mated to a five-speed gearbox, which developed 623bhp (463kW) at 6,000rpm and an equally impressive 561ft-lbs (760Nm) of torque at 4,000 rpm. Comparable with many of today’s supercars, the Hunaudières W16 showed that a large capacity, multiple-cylinder engine could be delivered in a fairly compact package. The engine itself was only 634mm long and 690mm wide, similar in size to a conventional V8.
We now know that the car was never meant for production, but was in fact harbinger of the company's future developments. Technologies first displayed in the Hunaudières can now be found in high-end cars across the VW Group's performance range, including the Bugatti Veyron, which uses a variation of the 8.0-litre W16 engine.
Bentley is now more successful than ever. Last year it was rated the tenth most popular European brand in the American market with sales totalling 3,654 for the US alone.
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