Overview

The Bentley Flying Spur is an impressive-looking and highly-specified four door, bristling with the latest tech and equipment, super-rapid, packaged in a smooth and elegant aluminium saloon body that’s extravagantly-proportioned, but rarely looks it. And now available with battery assistance, it’s one of the best luxury hybrids you can buy.

Rivals for the Flying Spur? A Cessna aeroplane perhaps? In reality, the nearest alternative is the Rolls-Royce Ghost. But given that under the Flying Spur’s skin lurks quite a bit of Audi A8 hardware, you might want to consider our former luxury car of the year. But also, you might consider the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 7 Series or Lexus LS.

The Flying Spur is offered with two engines – a 6.0-litre twin-turbocharged W12 that develops 635hp and a lower-priced 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 unit (also shared with the GT) that’s good for 550hp and a 198mph maximum speed. A hybrid version is all the way, about which you can read more later in this review.

The V8 version offers prodigious speed and performance, with effortless acceleration that gets you from 0-62mph in 4.0 seconds and on to a maximum speed of 198mph. Those numbers don’t tell all of the story, because all of that thrust is delivered in near silence, aside from a muted V8 growl as the revs rise.

The W12 isn’t that much quicker, but the performance is even more accessible, with near-instantaneous throttle response. The 0-62mph time is 3.7 seconds and the maximum speed is 207mph – while the soundtrack from its engine is just as quiet as its V8 cousin, but richer and more interesting. It’s quite a car.

As well as the expected suite of luxury equipment you expect at this price point in a car like this, there are some interesting additions that really make this car stand out. The new bonnet-mounted light-up Flying B Mascot that’s made from bright polished steel should come across a little bit gauche – but it’s eye-catching and small enough not to look ostentatious. The lavish interior comes with mood lighting, contrast stitching, deep pile overmats and dual finish veneer. Sadly, the Bentley Rotating Display is on the options list.

There’s no model range as such as you can configure the car how you wish, although there are some schemes to choose from, such as Storm Noir, Cool Harmony, Fire and Ice and Alter Ego.

Read on to find out everything you need to know about the Bentley Flying Spur including its practicality, how much it costs to run, what it’s like to drive – and whether we recommend buying one.