New Bentley Flying Spur offers storming four-door performance

Bentley on Tuesday unmasked its new fourth-generation Flying Spur: a luxury four-door saloon that merges supreme driving comfort with supercar-rivalling performance.

Those expecting a sea change on the styling front might be disappointed as there is not all that much to distinguish it from the outgoing model other than updated design elements. These include dark tinted exterior brightware plus a new radiator grille, front bumper and rear diffuser.

You also get new LED welcome lamps that project an animated Bentley Wings logo onto the ground when the front doors are opened and new 22” 10 swept spoke alloy wheels in two finishes: Grey Painted/Bright Machined or Black Painted.

Key differentiators of the fourth-generation model are found under the skin where a new Ultra Performance Hybrid powertrain replaces the W12 engine. As with the Continental GT Speed that broke cover in June, this sees the pairing of a 441kW/800Nm 4.0l twin-turbocharged V8 with a 140kW/450Nm electric motor sandwiched inside the transmission. The latter is juiced by a 25.9kWh battery mounted behind the rear axle. With both units combined, you're looking at a total output of 575kW and 1,000Nm.

Sent to all four wheels via an eight-speed dual clutch gearbox and an electronic limited slip differential, Bentley says this unit will propel the Flying Spur from 0—100km/h in 3.5 seconds — just 0.2 seconds slower than the Continental GT Speed. Curiously, the British carmaker doesn't quote a top speed but expect it to be well over the 300km/h mark. 

On the flip side of this storming straight-line performance is impressive efficiency. The new Flying Spur offers a maximum all-electric driving range of 76km at speeds of up to 140km/h. CO₂ emissions of 33g/km means it also huffs out 90% less carbon dioxide than its W12 predecessor. Plugged into an 11kW charger, Bentley says the luxury four-door saloon's lithium-ion battery pack can be fully replenished in under three hours. 

Another standout feature fitted as standard to the fourth-generation Flying Spur is the new Bentley Performance Active Chassis that uses technology such as all-wheel steering, torque vectoring (front to rear and across the axles), the firm's renowned 48V active anti-roll system and a new generation of ESC control software.

There's also a new twin-valve damper system with dual-chamber air springs; an arrangement claimed to offer a clear delineation of dynamic capabilities between Comfort, Bentley and Sport modes. The body-control of the previous car's Sport mode is maintained, while the ride comfort in Comfort mode is significantly improved for better compliance across choppier surfaces. 

Inside the cabin you will find redesigned seats with 3D diamond quilting and updated perforation patterns. Leather with a 3D diamond texture covers the door interiors and B-pillars. The optional Dark Chrome Specification provides a more refined look, applied to areas such as the door handles, switches and speaker grilles.

Additionally, updated driver instrumentation graphics have been introduced, while the rotating display remains an option, offering a 12.3" high-definition screen, analogue dials or a wood veneer panel.

Customisation options remain a key part of the Flying Spur ownership experience, with a wide range of bespoke configurations available through Bentley's Mulliner division. Exterior paint options include 101 colours, which can be further expanded to match any historic Bentley colour or a custom request.

For the interior, there are 22 primary hide colours, 11 secondary shades and four colour splits, giving customers more than 700 possible combinations — not including stitching and piping options. Rich wood veneer options come in eight styles and there are three technical finishes available. .

Customers can choose from three audio set-ups. The standard system has 10 speakers and 650W of power, while the mid-tier Bang & Olufsen version delivers 1,500W through 16 speakers. The flagship Naim system includes 19 speakers and Active Bass Transducers, producing 2,200W. Laminated acoustic glass is retained for the windscreen and side windows and helps reduce external noise by nine decibels compared with standard glass.

Once the exclusive preserve of those sat behind the steering wheel, Bentley's Wellness Seating Specification is now available across all four seats in the new Flying Spur. This option offers automatic seat climate control and postural adjustment, which regulates temperature and seat pressure to support occupant comfort and reduce fatigue.

Other technological highlights include an environment display in the driver’s instrument panel to support with semi-assisted drive modes; intelligent park assist (self-parking) and an enhanced air conditioning system fitted with ionisation, a particulate filter and air quality displays for inside and outside the car. It also syncs with satellite navigation to adjust air recirculation in certain situations, such as when driving through tunnels.

First European deliveries of the new Bentley Flying Spur will commence at the end of the year with pricing expected to start at about the £220,000 R3.58m) mark.