Official stats and info on Bentley's next-gen Flying Spur following yesterday's leaked images
The official embargo for information on Bentley's new Continental Flying Spur has now passed, meaning we can update the story we posted yesterday reporting the leak of official pics and info. A handsome thing it is too, and a notable improvement over the original in the styling department.
Spur will get Speed's twin-turbo W12
However, now that the car’s been officially unveiled, we’re able to bring you a few more details of the substance. First up, there’s the engine: contrary to expectations, just one will be available at launch, and it’s the thumping 6.0-litre W12 twin-turbo that’s fitted to the
Continental GT Speed with the same 625hp and 590lb ft. Matched to
ZF’s excellenteight-speed transmission and powering a four-wheel drive drivetrain with a 40:60 front to rear split, it’ll provide sufficient grunt to get the Spur from 0-60 in 4.3 seconds. No 0-62 nonsense for these boys, though if you do think metric it'll take another three tenths to hit the benchmark 100km/h. Bentley claims it’ll also be able to hit 200mph, which is thanks in part to a drag coefficient of 0.29 – pretty impressive for a bluff four-door like this. Power to weight has also been improved by a worthy 14 per cent over the previous model.
Interior as well-appointed as you'd expect
Inside, as you’d expect, there’ll be no compromising on luxury. There’s a new infotainment system that allows Bluetooth connectivity and provides a Wi-Fi hotspot, as well as a ‘rear seat entertainment suite’ and a hand-held, touch-screen remote for rear-seat passengers. There’ll be a choice of four- or five-seat configurations, the former featuring a centre console that runs from front to rear, and all seats will be heated and electrically-adjustable. And, as per every other Bentley model, almost every interior surface is awash with wood veneer and leather, essentially in any colour you like. Meanwhile, ride comfort is assured by standard-fit air suspension; springs, anti-roll bars and suspension lever bushes have also been softened all round. The air suspension also lowers itself as the car approaches its top speed; first by 5mm at the front and 10mm at the rear at 121mph; and then by a further 8mm and 13mm respectively at 149mph. Neat!
We’ve no information on pricing or on-sale dates just yet, but we hope to bring you those details when the car makes its global debut at Geneva. Meanwhile for bargain-hunting would-be Bentley drivers the outgoing model makes for a seriously tempting alternative to everyday saloons, as our £35K You Know You Want To revealed recently. And there are plenty more like it too.
Original story: Although it wasn’t supposed to be released until tomorrow, Bentley’s new Flying Spur has already been leaked on the internet. Pictures of the new car that look to be initial press shots have been discovered by Worldcarfans – although the Russian site they claim as a source looks to have removed them since.
New front end sets Spur apart from GT
Still, that’s not going to stop us from sharing them with you. Especially when the new Spur is such a fine-looking thing. It’s bulky, undeniably, but manages to look lower and more purposeful than the previous model. It’s also lost the Lincoln Town Car-esque rear glasshouse in favour of one more akin to the Mulsanne, which can only be a good thing. Up front, there’s more of a differentiation between this and the
Continental GT than there was before, too, so the Spur is easily distinguishable from head on.
Inside, the interior is mostly the same as the coupe, while the engine line-up is set to be similarly... er... similar. In other words, you’ll probably get the same choice of 507hp twin-turbo V8, 575hp W12, or 625hp W12 Speed. Of course, we’ll have full details for you as they come through tomorrow.
[Source: Worldcarfans]
