Bentley Continental Flying Spur

Bentleys have worn the Continental Flying Spur name on two quite different classes of four-door cars since 1957.

The first is a four-door saloon body made to special order by coachbuilders H. J. Mulliner & Co. (later Mulliner Park Ward) on a Bentley Continental chassis. These bodies were built in London on the various specification chassis made in Crewe between 1957 and 1966.

The second is a standard manufacturer's catalogue car, a four-door standard production line version of Bentley's own Crewe factory-built Continentals.

Both may be described as four-door variants of 2-door Bentley Continentals.

1957–1966 Bentley Continental

Always for cars with more powerful engines than used in standard cars installed in lowered chassis provided to coachbuilders for distinctive and distinguished body shapes of specially lightened construction.

Bentley Continentals have usually been close-coupled two-door saloons intended for high speed touring and slightly less for comfort. They were named Continental, as with some Rolls-Royces before them, because until the 1960s there were no high speed roads of any length on their home territory.

2006–2013 Bentley Continental Flying Spur

Bentley Continental Flying Spur

The Bentley Continental Flying Spur (2006 - 2013) is the second Bentley manufactured since Volkswagen Group purchased the brand in 1999, after the Continental GT. They Flying Spur is essentially a four-door version of the GT, with a stretched wheelbase and greater length for more spacious rear seating. The two models are similarly priced.

The 2013 Spur weighs 5,580 lbs and carries the same twin-turbo 6.0-litre W12 used in the Continental GT, for an output of 600 horsepower and 533 pound-feet of torque. It has a zero-to-sixty-mph time of 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 200 mph. The steering column-mounted paddle shifters enable direct access to the six-speed gearbox when the ZF transmission is in “S” or sports mode. EPA fuel economy estimates are 11 mpg city/19 mpg highway. A 2013 Continental Flying Spur comes with a 3 year/unlimited mileage warranty.

Bentley Flying Spur Mulliner interior

The 2013 Bentley Flying Spur Speed version carries a $209,600 base price. Options include a remote-controlled rear-seat entertainment system embedded in the front row headrests. Lambswool rugs accompany the Premium specification.

2014 Bentley Flying Spur

On 12 February 2013, Bentley Motors announced a redesigned Flying Spur for model-year 2014.^[1] The 2014 Flying Spur was first unveiled to the public at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show.^[2] The "Continental" prefix has been omitted from Bentley's promotional material for this model. It carries the same twin-turbo 6.0-litre W12 used in the Continental GT, for an output of 616 horsepower, 590 pound-feet of torque and zero-to-sixty-mph time of 4.3 seconds.^[3] The sedan weighs 5,451 pounds and has a new eight-speed automatic transmission for the 2014 model-year. Its all-wheel-drive system is rear-biased with a ratio of 60:40.

The 2014 Flying Spur is expected to get better fuel economy by U.S. EPA estimates, with (uncertified) projections of 12 miles per gallon (mpg) in the city and 20 mpg on the highway.

References

1. 2014 Bentley Continental Flying Spur Unveiled Ahead of 2013 Geneva Auto Show, Edmunds.com, 2013-02-19, retrieved 2013-03-10, The face-lifted 2014 Bentley Continental Flying Spur was unveiled on Tuesday ahead of a global debut at the 2013 Geneva Auto Show
2. Bentley Introduces the all-new Flying Spur, Bentley Motors Limited, retrieved 2013-03-10
3. "Bentley Flying Spur 2014". squaremile.com. 2014-09-12. Retrieved 12 September 2014.