I feel honoured that sir has asked me to give my opinion on his new gin-and-tonic palace. Normally I just drive where I'm told and at the speed required. On this most interesting outing to the Great Wall I was unable to verify
the Flying Spur's
top speed, nor even to sense the small lowering of the air suspension at 121mph and a larger one at 149mph, in both cases more at the back - 23mm in all - than the front. But what I could detect from the driving seat was a ride now able to maintain a Martini unshaken, if that is what sir desires. Far be it from me to put him right on that score.
Caruthers permitted to speak from here
The Bentley purveyors tell us that the air 'springs' are 10 per cent softer at the front and 13 per cent at the rear. The anti-roll bars are softer again, the suspension's rubber bushes even more so, but the damping is retuned to ensure the result does not resemble a blancmange.
The previous Flying Spur, it must be said, was not a happy mix of dynamics, with noisy, fidgety progress over bumps and a lot of road roar. And that was on the smallest wheels, so the many buyers who specified the largest had a miserable time if only they would admit it. Even Bentley's then chief engineer didn't like it.
Now, the Spur is properly serene unless you encounter a very abrupt ridge. The downside is that this is not a car to be hurried along twisty roads unless you can plan your lines perfectly. It has lost some of the old car's sharpness, despite now sending more of the engine's gigantic torque to the rear wheels more of the time, so it feels less wieldy and can quickly wash out into understeer to the accompaniment of unseemly tyre squeal.
Softer throttle response can be tricky to modulate
You probably could get the tail to drift a little on the long way back to the motor house, but it would take a lot of road and a lot of effort. This is no longer a four-door Continental in either name or demeanour, and even switching the suspension to Sport - the tautest of four stages - doesn't change that. The differences between the modes are subtle.
Given what the Flying Spur is for, the new personality is the right one. What hasn't changed is the huge accelerative thrust (4.6sec to 62mph, 9.5sec to 100), although the initial throttle response is too soft. That means the thrust comes in a delayed torrent when you suddenly discover you need it, and sir might sue for whiplash. The gearchanges are very smooth and use of the beautifully-wrought manual paddles is practically redundant, but when gunning for escape velocity you can still feel, as well as hear, the W12's thrumbling. Silken it is not.
The Spur is the fastest non-driver's car you can buy. Which, as Mr Leung from Bentley's Beijing dealership has said, is the whole point.