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By Jonathan Crouch

Bentley's fourth generation Flying Spur saloon is now a performance PHEV. Is any saloon in the world really better than this one? Jonathan Crouch wonders.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 60

The fourth generation version of Bentley's Continental Flying Spur adopts PHEV tech but continues to blend old-school craftsmanship with the latest technology in the super-luxury saloon sector. Beneath the chrome trim, the leather and the wood veneers, there's cutting-edge tech at work producing breathtaking results and creating in this boardroom-segment limousine Bentley's fastest-ever four-door. It's hard not to be impressed.

Backgroundword count: 172

The Flying Spur names dates back to 1959 and saloon version of Bentley's R-Type Continental Coupe. With a name borrowed from the family crest of Arthur Talbot Johnstone, Managing Director of the coachbuilder Mulliner. In the modern Volkswagen Group-owned era, the 'Continental Flying Spur' badge was revived in 2005 for a saloon version of the Continental GT Coupe, with a second generation design (just known as the 'Flying Spur') appearing a decade later in 2013. The MK3 model followed in 2019, five years before it was relatively lightly updated to create this fourth generation design, which adopted PHEV tech for the first time. The obvious rivals to this car lie with models like the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class and the Rolls Royce Ghost, but in concept, what's on offer here is probably better understood as something a bit more dynamic than that: imagine a cross between a BMW M5 and a Rolls Royce Phantom and you'll be somewhere close. This is Bentley's fastest-ever four-door: but that's not the only reason it's very desirable indeed....

Engines and Tech Specword count: 305

The big news here is the switch to PHEV tech; the previous car's classic W12 engine is sadly no more. As with this model's predecessors, virtually all the engineering here is borrowed from the brand's Continental GT coupe, which in turn borrows is MSB platform, 8-speed twin clutch auto transmission and rear suspension from a Porsche Panamera. Only one 'Speed'-badged model is (for the time being) available and with 771bhp and 1,000Nm of torque, it makes this Flying Spur Bentley's fastest four-door ever; for reference, that's 121bhp and 100Nm more than the previous W12-engined Flying Spur Speed model. 584bhp of this current model's power total comes from its VW Group-sourced V8, with a further 188bhp contributed by an e-motor built into the automatic gearbox. That motor is energised by a 25.9kWh battery beneath the boot floor that Bentley claims will take the car up to 50 miles and at speeds of up to 87mph. Obviously, do one and you won't be able to do the other. Despite the 2.5-tonne kerb weight (around 200kg heavier than the old Flying Spur W12 Speed), performance from this 'Ultra Performance Hybrid' powertrain is explosive, 62mph flashing by in just 3.5s on the way (if you can find a race track or the right stretch of autobahn) to a top speed of 177mph. At first glance, not much has changed underneath. Bentley though, says that weight distribution has been shifted fractionally backwards for a better 50:50 balance. And there are now twin valve dampers which, it's claimed, have enabled the engineers to optimise dynamic ability and comfort. In the most frantic 'Dynamic' drive mode, the drivetrain is tuned to let the rear axle slip slightly, giving the driver greater control of power deployment mid-corner. But if you're planning to drive like that regularly, you really should have bought an M5.

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