Tuesday 5th December 2017

Bentley Continental Flying Spur: Spotted

Over 500hp, swathes of luxury and less than £30,000... Yes please!

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To many, owning a Bentley shows the world you've made it or, in the case of the Continental GT, that you're good at kicking a football. The Conti was, of course, the first car released under the brand's post VW rebirth, but the two-door GT soon spawned a four-door variant - the Flying Spur.

Like other VW owned products, the Flying Spur shared a platform with the Volkswagen Phaeton and powertrain components with the Audi S8. In reality though, few owners will have cared about the origins of its components, as when PH tested the Flying Spur we discovered that 95 per cent of Flying Spur buyers are driven by someone else. This 2006 diamond black model is no different, with the ad stating the car has been chauffeur driven from new.

If the new owner prefers piloting themselves, the W12 twin-turbo engine is no slouch. With 560hp and 479lb ft through all four wheels, it can be hustled along to its top speed of 194mph very quickly indeed. Our colleagues over at Autocar stated the brakes on the Flying Spur deserved a special mention too, able as they are to resist fade when stopping a car weighing near enough two and a half tons. Which is reassuring.

Sitting in the front seat, the driver will be met with sumptuous magnolia hide and burr walnut inlays but the knobs and switches may feel a little under engineered when compared to the rest of the cabin, a flaw rectified in later models. But the Flying Spur was built to rival other luxobarges like the Mercedes S-Class, Jaguar XJR and BMW 7-Series, so the true feeling of luxury comes in the rear of the cabin. Being seated in the comfort of the reclining seats with individual climate control and deep pile carpets gives a true sense of serenity as the driver wafts through cities or across continents.

Is there anything else that can provide that amount of luxury and power for the money? Well, keeping things British for now, the Jaguar XJR with a supercharged V8 ticks a few boxes, especially being a few years younger, but the closest rival in terms of opulence and speed comes from Italy and the Maserati Quattroporte. The latter may provide what looks like a sportier package and lower running costs, but the Bentley is capable of a higher top speed and quicker 0-62mph time. It may be an old cliché but the Flying Spur is a lot of car for not a lot of money. So, what are you waiting for?

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SPECIFICATION - BENTLEY CONTINENTAL FLYING SPUR

Engine: 5,998cc, twin-turbo W12
Transmission: 6-speed automatic, all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 560@6,100rpm
Torque (lb ft): 479@1,600-6,100rpm
MPG: 17
CO2: 396g/km
First registered: 2006
Recorded mileage: 61,000miles
Price new: £133,200
Yours for: £25,950

See the original advert here

[Buffy d]

I looked at these, and at Conti GTs, then looked at reliability, repairs and running costs and swiftly changed my mind about ever buying one. Hell of a car and huge respect to anyone who does but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

Edited by Buffy d on Tuesday 5th December 15:00

[ntiz]

Ummm since when was the continental a 2 seater?

I assume it's meant to be 2 door?

[Krikkit]

Never liked the Conti, but have a soft spot for these.

I know fuel economy shouldn't be a worry in a car like this, but a range of sub-300 miles with a 20 gallon fuel tank would certainly be a bit of a faff for the cross-continental jaunt.

Edited by Krikkit on Tuesday 5th December 13:31

[Quhet]

For some reason I've never really liked the look of these . They look rather anonymous, bland and nothing particularly special from the outside and you see a fair number about.
Not really what a Bentley is all about for me

[V8 FOU]

Quhet said:

For some reason I've never really liked the look of these . They look rather anonymous, bland and nothing particularly special from the outside and you see a fair number about.
Not really what a Bentley is all about for me

Agree.
For £30K up you can get a Real Bentley Continental R - that will increase in value. And likely be less expensive to maintain.
And, you have the knowledge you are driving a real Bentley not a poncey VW

Not that I am biased, of course.......

[bmthnick1981]

I really like these but it would need to be a later speed model.

The article doesn't mention the Mercedes S65 or Alpina B7 both of which are probably rivals.

[howardhughes]

Buffy d said:

I looked at these, and at Conti GTs, then looked at reliability, repairs and running costs and swiftly changed my mind about ever buying one. Hell of a car and huge respect to anyone who does but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

Edited by Buffy d on Tuesday 5th December 15:00

No disrespect, just reading your post you clearly have the funds to buy into the luxury car market.
So how high were the running costs on these cars?

[QuattroDave]

howardhughes said:

Buffy d said:

I looked at these, and at Conti GTs, then looked at reliability, repairs and running costs and swiftly changed my mind about ever buying one. Hell of a car and huge respect to anyone who does but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

Edited by Buffy d on Tuesday 5th December 15:00

No disrespect, just reading your post you clearly have the funds to buy into the luxury car market.
So how high were the running costs on these cars?

When I was looking at the GT's I was put off by the £4k discs/pads change, £1k services and countless people who put £250/month by for general servicing and repairs on these!

That was enough to check me out!

[406dogvan]

These have to be high in the highest-depreciating car league - I know someone who bought one for a 6 month exec. car job and lost over £20K on it (and he spent NOTHING on it in his care other than fuel) - most of that I should add was down to them being REALLY hard to sell...

I'm not really sure who buys these tbh - if you want a wafter there are nicer Bentleys, if you want a bahnstormer BMW, MB and Audi have way more options too!?

The Conti at least made sense as a continent-crushing coupe - this just doesn't...

[anonymous-user]

Is it just me or does the design of those door cards look very VW?

[aaron_2000]

My way of seeing it, the Phaeton is one hell of a deal at the prices they are. Think I'd rather been seen in a Phaeton that a Flying Spur.

[Kawasicki]

aaron_2000 said:

My way of seeing it, the Phaeton is one hell of a deal at the prices they are. Think I'd rather been seen in a Phaeton that a Flying Spur.

They drive very differently. I'd take the Bentley.

[Macneil]

I'm sure I saw one of these last night in a Co-op car park with a BJ 1 plate!

[aaron_2000]

Kawasicki said:

They drive very differently. I'd take the Bentley.

For a third of the price, I could deal with the difference in drive.

[Piersman2]

My father's had one of these for the last 2-3 year, he just got rid of it as he was wincing at the running costs involved, and he was happy to spend £800 just on a detail/polish so not exactly worried about normally counting the pennies when it comes looking after his cars.

The parts costs, if you have to go to Bentley, are just eye watering, and I have a Range Rover and Jag so not exactly usually shocked by expensive parts.

Best example he had was looking to replace the B & C pillar outer covers as his were a bit bubbly with corrosion. I guessed about £800 for the set when we talking about it, he laughed... £2000+ for the few bits of trim to make the windows surround look nice again. Suffice to say he didn't bother, got them wrapped instead!

I considered buying a continental a few years back but when I saw the price of Bentley parts he was buying for his previous, older Bentley Eight I just wasn't prepared to risk it , £3000 plus fitting plus VAT for an airbag ECU on that car!

ETA - and I just never thought his flying spur was in any way particularly special . either as somewhere to be sat in or dynamically on the road. All in all it felt like it could have been any car really. Any of his previous old rollers or bentleys had more character by the bucket load with a sense of occasion every time you used them. He's now looking for another Silver Spirit / Bentley 8 as he reckons the old ones are cheaper to run.

Edited by Piersman2 on Tuesday 5th December 23:45

[406dogvan]

aaron_2000 said:

My way of seeing it, the Phaeton is one hell of a deal at the prices they are. Think I'd rather been seen in a Phaeton that a Flying Spur.

You'd also be in a car with rarer and more expensive parts - seriously, there are fewer VW parts-bin bits in a Phaeton than this thing - they redesigned EVERYTHING for the Phaeton ;0

[thelawnet1]

pointless, pointless vehicle.

The corresponding A8 is £6k.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

So many cheap barges around, not sure why you'd spend £26k on an ageing one like this.

[Murphy16]

thelawnet1 said:

So many cheap barges around, not sure why you'd spend £26k on an ageing one like this.

Because you can't get into a Phantom.

[bluemason]

Macneil said:

I'm sure I saw one of these last night in a Co-op car park with a BJ 1 plate!

hmm very classy but that style of number plate lettering just screams chav with extra pocket money

[WCZ]

thelawnet1 said:

pointless, pointless vehicle.

The corresponding A8 is £6k.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

So many cheap barges around, not sure why you'd spend £26k on an ageing one like this.

because it looks like a £130,000 car still - esp with a private plate and is much quicker and refined