Bentley Flying Spur 2005 Review

"We have been assured that the cars for the Australian market will continue to be built at headquarters in Crewe," Bentley spokesman Julian Jenkins says. "Demand has certainly been increasing past the capacity of Crewe and the opportunity to assemble cars in Dresden makes perfect sense, however, those cars will meet demand for markets other than Australia and South-East Asia."

Jenkins was in Australia this week for the launch of the latest in Bentley's growing stable, the Continental Flying Spur.

The Flying Spur is the four-door sedan version of the Continental GT, the car which has forced Bentley to find extra capacity.

Last year in Australia more than 100 buyers drove away in their Continental GTs and Jenkins is quietly confident that at least as many again will put down their $375,000 for the Flying Spur.

"There is a five-month wait on delivery and we already have more than that in firm orders," Jenkins, Bentley's regional director for South-East Asia and Australasia.

A short drive around Sydney this week underscored both the Flying Spur's similarities to its coupe sibling and its vast differences. While the Flying Spur is based on the same chassis and drive train as the GT there is little to link them to the casual observer.

The Flying Spur is a grand tourer of the old school. It has presence above its rather small – by Bentley standards – 5.3m length and eye-catching style. There is the same 6.0-litre twin-turbocharged V12 powerplant with 411kW and huge lumps of torque almost from idle. The Flying Spur is no slouch, sprinting to 100km/h in just 5.2 seconds on its way to a claimed top speed of 312km/h.

However, where the GT delivers its character with enthusiasm the Flying Spur is more about refinement. The exhaust burble is quieter, the interior a little more understated and hugely more spacious – something the 11 cows that donated their hides to this leather cocoon would be pleased to know – and athleticism is at the driver's discretion.

The Flying Spur can certainly hold its own when spirited progression is required with selectable suspension settings from plush to hang-on tight. It is impossible to deny the physics of the Spur's 2475kg mass shifting through the direction changes but once confidence is gained that the mechanical grip of the chassis and the huge 19-inch rims with 275/40R19 rubber are up to the job the car shrinks around you.

Owners can choose to have the interior configured as a four-seater or as a five-seater with precious few decisions to make other than colour combinations.

Standard equipment levels are as you would expect for a car of this category and the craftsmanship of the interior fitment befits a Bentley.