The Flying Spur: Age-­Appropriate for the Young at Heart

by Glenn Derene

There are many cars in the automotive world that are perfectly fine for the boss to own. It’s not a hard standard to meet: Is it dignified? Is it kind of boring? Then it’s probably acceptable for that prime reserved spot in the company lot — and probably not much fun to drive.

But just because your name bears one of those highfalutin acronyms that begin with a C and end with an O, that doesn’t mean you should have to arrive at work stamped doa. Thus the allure of the 2008 Bentley Continental Flying Spur.

The Flying Spur is, simply put, the fastest production sedan in the world. These days, when hot four-doors such as the BMW M5 and Mercedes S65 AMG wimp out at a speed-limited 155 mph, the Spur keeps piling on the get-go until the needle hits 195. It does so by way of a cavernous six-liter, 12-cylinder engine with twin turbochargers, capable of applying 479 pound-feet of torque at only 1,600 rpm.

Granted, all that oomph comes at a cost. The EPA estimates that the Flying Spur will get only 11 mpg in the city and 18 on the highway. Plus, a Flying Spur buyer can expect to get hit with a gas-guzzler tax of $3,700 — not to mention a few flying tomatoes from environmentalists.

If you were, however, to run over those environmentalists in the Flying Spur, you’d barely notice. The vehicle balances its performance characteristics with an adjustable air suspension that — as we discovered during a recent test drive on Lower Manhattan streets, with their cutting-edge nineteenth-century potholes — does a remarkable job of smoothing out even the roughest road. Inside the cabin, the driver is removed to an alternate universe crafted entirely of fine materials integrated by expert craftsmen.

Indeed, at 17 and a half feet, the Flying Spur boasts the dimensions of a long-wheel-base limo and feels more clubhouse than car, upholstered as it is with the hides from 11 of England’s softest cows, carpeted in deep-pile lamb’s wool and veneered with a chocolate-brown chestnut wood that would make Thomas Chippendale chop his cabinets to kindling in shame.

When the copilot on our test drive first entered the car, he lovingly gazed around for a few long seconds before marveling at all the leather.

“My God,” he said. “Even the roof liner. . . . ”

“Yes,” we replied. “Even the roof liner.”

And then we slammed down the gas pedal and sent that leather-bound clubhouse flying in a manner wholly inappropriate for a corporate titan. 

Executive Summary:

2008 Bentley Continental Flying Spur Cost $170,990 (base price)
Engine 12-cylinder, six-liter twin-turbo engine generating 552 hp
Chassis Four-door long-wheel- base sedan
Suspension Computer-controlled, self-leveraging air suspension
Transmission ZF six-speed automatic transmission with full-time AWD
Brakes 15.9-inch discs (front); 13.2-inch discs (rear), with standard traction and stability control
0–60 4.9 seconds
Top Speed 195 mph
Weight 5,456 pounds
Fuel Economy 11 mpg city/18 highway
Handling 3 of five
Acceleration 4 of five
Appearance 4 of five
Braking 5 of five
Comfort 5 of five