Bentley Continental Flying Spur 2006 Review

What we liked
>> Rear seat's sense of occasion
>> Prodigious pace
>> Bespoke interior feel

Not so much
>> Styling bland
>> We can't afford it

OVERVIEW
If Continental GT was the world's worst kept automotive secret (debuted after a PR campaign better measured in seasons than months, we said back then), then the Bentley Continental Flying Spur caught us almost by surprise. Unveiled at Geneva earlier this year, the world's fastest four-door arrived almost without fanfare just a matter of months after its svelte, best-selling coupe stablemate.

Australia and the Far East figured in the long wheelbase international launch. Just hours after its outing in Switzerland the Continental Flying Spur (CFS) was shown to waiting media and showgoers in Melbourne. Perhaps this is not surprising given the penetration of the Continental GT in this marketplace.

Despite its close to a $400,000 pricetag, over 130 of the super-coupes have been delivered Down Under. The harbour city has led the way with Bentley Sydney alone delivering 75 of the 300km/h-plus four-wheel drive GTs. Indeed the GT has caught the imagination of the 'in crowd'. Rumour has it the garage of one prominent luxury waterfront development in Sydney's near east has no fewer than 10 GTs sharing the high security lodgings.

According to Bentley's man in the East, Julian Jenkins, the CFS will go close to doubling the marque's ongoing volume Down Under. High seas car transporter timetables willing, his team of six dealers across Australia expect to shift an impressive 60-65 Flying Spurs before the end of 2005.

Priced at same $375,000 plus ORCs as the Continental GT for the five-seater, the CFS will also be offered, at an extra cost of $15,000, in a four-place version. Jenkins expects the mix to be 50:50.

And if you think that the aim of delivering 65 CFS is ambitious, consider this: By the time you read this report, no fewer than 350 prospective buyers will have already driven the two Flying Spurs Bentley shipped specifically to Australia for its customer familiarization program.

FEATURES
The second car to be produced from VW-owned Bentley's Continental platform, the Flying Spur is unashamedly luxurious and expansive.

The car is heavily based on the GT coupe and, developed alongside, shares its mechanicals and safety packaging. That said the CFS is 500mm longer overall than the two-door; 300mm of which has been plugged into the wheelbase. The rearward half of the car is essentially all-new. In addition to accommodating two (or three) extra occupants in style, Bentley has incorporated a cavernous 480lt-plus boot.

Rear legroom is, as you'd expect, prodigious. Bentley says 980mm, though it might as well be 1980mm -- even basketballers are going to have trouble claiming they're cramped in this car.

Don't think for a moment however that the space has come at the price of pace. A measure of the attention that's been taken not to compromise the performance of the new Flying Spur is its weight. Though the Continental GT is a (very) hefty 2350kg, the CFS with its extra doors, seats and size weighs in at just 90kg more.

Aerodynamics has been paid special attention. The active suspension system actually lowers the big limo at speed and the rear bumper and under floor is specifically shaped to funnel air out cleanly from the underbody diffuser. There's also a vestigial aerofoil on the trailing edge of the bootlid to negate lift and provide stability at high speed. The upshot is the four-door has an even better drag coefficient than the Continental GT: 0.31Cd compared to the coupe's 0.32Cd.

COMFORT
Bentley says Continental Flying Spur owners will "want for nothing inside their car, whether behind the wheel or enjoying the ride as a passenger". As far as we can see with the exception of powered rear side privacy blinds and a couple of other odds and sods offered in the 7 Series and high-spec S Classes the Crewe Crew are very probably right.

The CFS is equipped with the latest from its power-latching doors (now also fitted to GT coupes) and 16-way electrically powered heated and cooled front seats to its multi-zone climate control, LED lighting and advanced infotainment system.

Four-seat Flying Spurs have multi-adjustable heated and cooled seats in the back as well. They are divided by a centre console which is trimmed in premium leather hide and wood veneer and contains the seat and climate control systems as well as cupholders and storage space. Passengers in the rear can also move the front passenger's seat ensuring maximum comfort when it is unoccupied. Five-seaters have to rough it with just lumbar, heat and cooling controls. Oh, the hardship.

Up front GT owners will feel right at home -- right down to the Breitling clock, classic 'bulls-eye' ventilation outlets with organ stop controls, knurled knobs and stitched hide dashtop. The multifunction leather-trimmed multi-position wheel; Infotainment centre with navigation, CD, TV, radio; glovebox-mounted six-stacker CD; keyless entry and start; multi-zone electronic climate control are all carried over from the GT. What isn't is the key - no longer the same folding blade unit as Golf and A3 owner receive, the new Bentley key gets a bespoke shape and knurled real metal finish. Pukka.

As you'd expect at this rarified level, the CFS option list is not long although there are now personalised paint options if the 16 exterior and 17 interior colours and seven timber choices are insufficient. Though still not offered on the GT, the CFS can be ordered with a sunroof -- a glass tilt and slide roof with electric sunblind is a no cost option, while the glass solar panel tilt and slide sunroof (which operates ventilation controls in high temperatures when parking) is a trifling $2047.

With the Crewe production line now actually running through Bentley's Mulliner division's workshop the sky is, however, quite literally the limit. If you want your CFS rebodied or dumped and beefed up with seriously bling 20-inch wheels, just ask... The latter, by the way, will set you back $7000 or so and makes up part of the Mulliner Driving Specification pack offered on the 2005 GT.

SAFETY
The Continental Flying Spur is equipped with a full suite of passive safety equipment as you'd expect given its pricetag.

Active safety has also been given due consideration and, alongside the GT, the CFS boasts what are claimed to be the largest brakes ever to be fitted to a standard production car. The front discs are 405mm in diameter and gripped by bespoke alloy calipers. Even the rear discs dwarf those fitted to most cars at 335mm in diameter.

The braking system features a Bosch anti-lock system with Brake Assist and electronic pressure distribution. The Continental Flying Spur also has a unique electronic parking brake -- after the driver has applied the brake it will automatically re-apply a few minutes later. This prevents accidental slippage should the brake discs cool and contract after use. The parking brake system can also be operated as an emergency brake. In this instance braking is applied to all four wheels and the car's electronic safety systems remain fully operational allowing the driver to steer as normal.

In terms of go, the CFS's 411kW is metered via an array of other computer aides. These include ASR traction control and the latest Bosch Electronic Stability Programme (ESP).

Even $400K cars get flats. Unfortunately even Bentley has now eschewed the full-size spare with the CFS. A space saver and inflation kit are standard fare but a full size spare is available, though it does eat into boot space a little.

MECHANICAL
The CFS shares the Continental GT's twin-turbocharged 6.0lt W12 engine. Claimed to the world's most compact 12-cylinder mill, its output is unaltered in the Flying Spur -- a muscular 411kW at 6100rpm. Torque is an equally impressive 650Nm which is on tap from just 1600rpm and doesn't call it quits until close to the peak power mark.

Though the W12 is offered in a number of VW Group products including the A8L, Phaeton and, most recently, a monster-engined Touareg, the Bentley's configuration is unique. At the release of the Continental GT, Bentley's engineers and project managers talked about 'sculpturing' the engine's componentry, aural signature and habits to instill Bentley characteristic -- wafting torque and stonking acceleration from any speed. The Flying Spur is no different ands while it has a bespoke exhaust that provides "greater refinement," we can vouch for its unadulterated performance.

Unlike its opposition from Mercedes-Benz and BMW (760Li), the CFS has the advantage of four wheel drive. Using both a central Torsen differential and computer-controlled 'differential' braking as required, like the GT, the set-up is based on Audi's flagship A8 quattro. In normal driving power is divided equally between the front and rear axles (50:50 torque split), however, as conditions dictate up to 80 per cent of torque can be directed to either end.

The GT's electronically controlled autobox is also carried over. A six-speeder, the transmission has the ability to lock up its torque converter in every gear, providing fuss-free self-shifting or manual-style gearchanges via either the gear lever or steering wheel paddles. In the manual mode, the car's brain blips the throttle on downchanges -- very un-limo-like, but we like it nonetheless.

COMPETITORS
Bentley expects to get new customers via the Flying Spur, in addition to creating a fair-share of multi-Bentley-owning families!?! Buyers are already coming from the ranks of S Class and 7 Series owners, but, a surprising amount of buyers are also taken the (big!) step up in terms of dollars and style from the likes of Range Rover.

Interestingly, Bentley doesn't see many Arnage buyers/owners stepping 'down' into a Flying Spur. Says Bentley chairman Dr Franz-Josef Paefgen: "...the Arnage will retain its true position as the most exclusive limousine in the world. If you work in a major capital city you might see a Continental Flying Spur a few times a month, but you will only come across an Arnage a few times a year. The Arnage will continue to be a bespoke car with real exclusivity."

"Offering supercar performance, real luggage space, auto trans, 4WD, real badge cachet and at least occasional four-seat accommodation, the GT is close to a unique proposition," we said on driving the Flying Spur's two-door stablemate last year... Revise the comment regards four-seat accommodation and the same can be said for the CFS.

ON THE ROAD
Driving the latest 7 Series BMWs and the Continental Flying Spur almost back to back isn't something that happens everyday so humour us while we draw some comparisons. Firstly, the CFS is surprisingly less cosseting than the Bavarian limo or its Mercedes counterpart. More involving and with more attitude in terms of suspension and steering feedback, the CFS is also more vocal than the BMW. That said, noise is a comparative term in this company -- neither are noisy.

The Bentley has more of a sense of occasion than its German counterparts too: it's easy to see where the dash has been hand stitched and the timber both front and rear looks like, err... timber rather than cunningly-disguised plastic. Indeed, the Bentley generally has a less mass-produced, more artisanal feel.

That is until the alloy-look accelerator pedal is shoved deep into the 100 per cent wool carpet -- it's then the car hunkers down and runs with the very best mass produced, high-tech speedsters available today -- four door and two.

Like the GT, the CFS generates huge pace very, very quickly. Bentley claims a 0-100km/h time of 4.9sec for the CFS. That's just 0.2sec slower than BMW's latest sledgehammer four-door, the M5. By way of comparison, BMW's 760Li logs 5.6secs for the same sprint while the S65L AMG beats all comers at 4.4sec.

Of more relevance is its in-gear (read: overtaking) performance. Bentley's stats have 80-120km/h taking just 3.3sec and we saw an indicated 140mph in short order onboard the Imperial-calibrated test car by simply by rolling into the throttle from corner to corner on the open roads to Melbourne's west. The CFS might not have the S65L AMG's newton-kilometre of torque on paper but it feels none the less rapid for it. Indeed, at the above 'throw away the key' speeds, if anything the Flying Spur seemed to be accelerating harder.

Though it shares the same basic suspension system as its coupe equivalent -- a four-link arrangement at the front and a trapezoidal multi-link rear axle with computer-controlled air springs and fully variable, electronically controlled shock absorbers -- the CFS has undergone a complete chassis retune. Cycle through the suspension modes and there's a real difference especially when compared at speed on typically under-maintained Aussie backroads.

On the softer settings road roar and imperfections are isolated however the ride is at best floaty. Tweak the settings to Sport via the Audi MMS-style central controller, however, and the ride, gearchange and steering are sharpened and the big limo can be pointed with a surprising degree of precision. You know you're stewarding close to 2500kg but there's never a sense of having to manhandle the car.

All of which will count for little for the percentage of people who will purchase the CFS to be driven. More fool them...