Bentley Flying Spur (2005) – Wikipedia

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British luxury motor vehicle

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Motor vehicle

The Bentley Flying Spur, known as the Bentley Continental Flying Spur before 2013, is a full-sized high-performance luxury saloon produced by Bentley Motors Limited since 2005. It is the four-door grand tourer variant of the Bentley Continental GT coupé.

The Flying Spur is handcrafted at Bentley’s factory in Crewe, England. Each bespoke saloon takes more than 100 hours to assemble completely by hand. Briefly, due to lack of capacity at the Crewe factory upon the car’s introduction, 1,358 units of the first generation Flying Spur destined for markets other than the United States and United Kingdom were built at Volkswagen’s Transparent Factory in Dresden, Germany. This arrangement ended in early 2007, when all assembly works reverted to Crewe in England.

First generation (2005–2013)[edit]

Motor vehicle

Bentley Flying Spur rear

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Interior

Overview[edit]

The first-generation Flying Spur was officially unveiled at the 75th Geneva Motor Show in March 2005.[2] It had a 5,998 cc (6.0 L) twin-turbocharged W12 engine tuned to produce 560 PS (412 kW; 552 bhp) and torque of 650 N⋅m (479 lbf⋅ft) at 1,600–6,100 rpm. Torsen-based permanent all-wheel drive system was standard on the Flying Spur. It can go 0–100 km/h (0.0–62.1 mph) in 4.9 seconds, and can reach a top speed of 314 km/h (195 mph).[3][4] It also has Adaptive Air Suspension and Continuous Damping Control as standard. At that time, it was the world’s fastest and most powerful production saloon.[5]

Sales of the first-generation Flying Spur began in late 2005.[6] During the first full-year sales of the Flying Spur, the number of deliveries exceeded 4,000 units.[7] The Speed model of the Flying Spur was introduced in 2008 as a higher performance variant with revised ceramic disc brakes and tuned to produce 602 horsepower. The acceleration of the Speed model is 0–100 km/h (0.0–62.1 mph) in 4.5 seconds, and can reach a top speed of 322 km/h (200 mph). The total production of the first generation Flying Spur was 19,786 units while only a limited number of 1,155 units of the Speed model were ever made.[8]

Engines[edit]

Petrol engines
Model Years Type/code Power at rpm, Torque at rpm
Flying Spur 2005–2013 5,998 cc (366.0 cu in) W12 twin turbo 560 PS (412 kW; 552 hp) at 6,100, 650 N⋅m (479 lb⋅ft) at 1,600–6,100
Flying Spur Speed 2008–2013 5,998 cc (366.0 cu in) W12 twin turbo 610 PS (449 kW; 602 hp) at 6,000, 750 N⋅m (553 lb⋅ft) at 1,700–5,600

Transmissions[edit]

Petrol engines
Model Years Types
Flying Spur 2005–2013 ZF 6-speed automatic with wheel-mounted paddle shifters
Flying Spur Speed 2008–2013 ZF 6-speed automatic with wheel-mounted paddle shifters

The steering column-mounted paddle shifters enable direct access to the six-speed gearbox when the ZF transmission is in “S” or sports mode.

Second generation (2013–2019)[edit]

Motor vehicle

Flying Spur W12 (2013–2019)[edit]

The second generation Flying Spur was unveiled in March 2013 at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show.[10][11][12]

Bently Flying Spur W12 rear

The “Continental” prefix was omitted; according to Bentley’s designers, this was a conscious attempt to take the Flying Spur in a more opulent direction and distance it from the more driver-oriented, two-door Continental GT range[13] (historically, the Continental name has generally been used by Bentley to refer to models of a “sporting” nature). Despite this, the Flying Spur and Continental GT continue to share the same engineering platform.

Flying Spur V8 (2013–2019)[edit]

Bentley Flying Spur V8 front

Bentley Flying Spur V8 rear

Engines[edit]

Petrol engines[14][15]
Model Years Type/code Power at rpm, Torque at rpm
Flying Spur W12 2013–2019 5,998 cc (366.0 cu in) W12 twin turbo 625 PS (460 kW; 616 hp) at 6,000, 800 N⋅m (590 lb⋅ft) at 2,000
Flying Spur V8 2014–2019 3,993 cc (243.7 cu in) V8 twin turbo 507 PS (373 kW; 500 hp) at 6,000, 660 N⋅m (487 lb⋅ft) at 1,700 (1,750?)
Flying Spur V8 S 2016–2019 3,993 cc (243.7 cu in) V8 twin turbo 528 PS (388 kW; 521 hp) at 6,000, 680 N⋅m (502 lb⋅ft) at 1,700
Flying Spur W12 S 2016–2019 5,998 cc (366.0 cu in) W12 twin turbo 635 PS (467 kW; 626 hp) at 6,000, 820 N⋅m (605 lb⋅ft) at 2,000

Transmissions[edit]

Petrol engines
Model Years Types
Flying Spur W12 2013–2019 ZF 8-speed automatic with Quickshift, Block Shifting and wheel-mounted paddle shifters
Flying Spur V8 2014–2019 ZF 8-speed automatic with Quickshift, Block Shifting and wheel-mounted paddle shifters
Flying Spur V8 S 2016–2019 ZF 8-speed automatic with Quickshift, Block Shifting and wheel-mounted paddle shifters

Third generation (2019–present)[edit]

Motor vehicle

The third-generation Flying Spur was unveiled in June 2019.[16][17] The car has been completely overhauled and is built on a brand-new platform, resembling the current Continental GT. The front received a new grille with vertical slats, akin to those of Rolls-Royce era Bentleys, while the rear features new taillights that incorporate a B motif. The hood ornament is now illuminated at night, electrically deployable, and capable of meeting pedestrian impact requirements. The interior boasts an optional rotating 12.3 in (31.2 cm) display and an all-new Touch Screen remote that allows rear occupants to control several systems.

Rear-wheel steering is new and is accompanied by air springs with 60 percent more volume than its predecessor. The all-wheel-drive system is also new and uses an electronically controlled clutch pack. Compared to the second generation model, the new Flying Spur gets close to 130 mm additional wheelbase.

Variants[edit]

  • Flying Spur First Edition (2019‒2020)
  • Flying Spur (2019‒Present)
  • Flying Spur Azure (2022‒Present)
  • Flying Spur S (2022‒Present)
  • Flying Spur Speed (2023‒Present)
  • Flying Spur Mulliner (2021‒Present)

Mulliner Variant; V6 Hybrid

Powertrains[edit]

There are three powertrains available for the Flying Spur: a 6.0 L W12, a 4.0 L V8, and 2.9 L plug-in hybrid, all of which have twin turbos. The W12 variant accelerates from 0–60 mph (0–97 km/h) in 3.7 seconds and reaches a maximum speed of 211 mph (340 km/h). It produces 626 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque. It is available only on the Mulliner and the Speed Variants.

The V8 variant produces 549 horsepower and 568 pound-feet of torque and accelerates from 0-62 mph in 4.1 seconds, with a top speed of 198 mph (319 km/h) [18] It is available on all trim levels except for the speed and Odyssean edition.

The plug-in hybrid variant uses a 2.9 liter V6 engine combined with a 14.1 kilowatt-hour battery to deliver a claimed electric range of 40 kilometers (25 miles) and a 0-60 time of 4.1 seconds. With a top speed of 177 mph (285 km/h), It is the slowest of the 3 Powertrains. [19] It is available on all variants except for the Speed Variant.

The Flying Spur became the only Bentley sedan model, after the production the Mulsanne ended in the second quarter of 2020 without a direct successor.[20]

In March 2021, Bentley issued a recall for a single Flying Spur due to an improper welding process used on the fuel tank.[21]

Special Editions[edit]

Flying Spur Odyssean Edition[edit]

On 29th July 2021, Bentley announced a special edition of the Flying Spur, as a celebration of the new Flying Spur Hybrid. Dubbed the Odyssean Edition. Outside, it features exterior trims and 21″ wheels, both finished in Pale Brogar. The interior features Open Pore Koa wood & Piano Linen console, Tweed panels & a 3 color hide combination.[22]

References[edit]

  1. ^ “Bentley Flying Spur Detailed Specifications”. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
  2. ^ “A Bentley Continental Flying Spur is on display as a first world presentation at the 75th Geneva motor Show in Geneva, Switzerland, March 2, 2005. Powered by a 6-litre twin-turbocharged 12-cylinder engine producing 557 BHP, this Bentley saloon has a top speed of 305 km/H and accelerates from 0 to 100 km in 5 seconds Stock Photo – Alamy”.
  3. ^ “Continental Flying Spur specification”. BentleyMotors.com. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
  4. ^ Bentley Continental Flying Spur – Media information Archived 23 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ “Continental Flying Spur specification”. 11 April 2005. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  6. ^ Bentley Continental Flying Spur – an introduction
  7. ^ Continental Flying Spur leads Bentley’s global sales success Archived 24 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ http://www.rrsilverspirit.com/models3/2009contflyingspurspeed.htm
  9. ^ a b c d e f g “Bentley Flying Spur Detailed Specifications”. Bentley Motors Limited. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  10. ^ “2014 Bentley Flying Spur makes its Swiss debut”. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  11. ^ “2014 Bentley Continental Flying Spur Unveiled Ahead of 2013 Geneva Auto Show”. Edmunds.com. 19 February 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2013. The face-lifted 2014 Bentley Continental Flying Spur was unveiled on Tuesday ahead of a global debut at the 2013 Geneva Auto Show
  12. ^ Bentley introduces the all-new Flying Spur, Bentley Motors Limited, archived from the original on 24 March 2013, retrieved 10 March 2013
  13. ^ “Bentley introduces the all-new Flying Spur”, The Daily Telegraph, 20 February 2013, retrieved 10 March 2013, That GT icon was hard to shift in our minds. But eventually we realised we did have the potential to push the boundaries and were inspired to design a car in its own right, which is why the Continental name has been dropped.
  14. ^ “THE ALL-NEW BENTLEY FLYING SPUR”. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  15. ^ “BENTLEY ANNOUNCES LUXURY AND PERFORMANCE UPGRADES TO CONTINENTAL AND FLYING SPUR MODELS”. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  16. ^ Duff, Mike (11 June 2019). “The 2020 Bentley Flying Spur Is New from the Ground Up and Way More Luxurious”. Car and Driver.
  17. ^ Reid, Rory (11 June 2019). “The new Bentley Flying Spur is a luxury limo you can drift”. Roadshow.
  18. ^ Petrány, Máté (15 October 2020). “The 2021 Bentley Flying Spur With a 549-HP V8 Isn’t for Your Chauffeur”. The Drive. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  19. ^ Southwell, Hazel (6 July 2021). “2022 Bentley Flying Spur Hybrid: 536 HP Combined From an Electrified V6”. The Drive. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  20. ^ Walsworth, Jack (15 January 2020). “Bentley drops Mulsanne; Flying Spur to become flagship sedan”. Automotive News Europe.
  21. ^ Tsui, Chris (4 March 2021). “Bentley Recalls Just One (1) Flying Spur Sedan”. The Drive. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  22. ^ “Bentley News 2021 : FLYING SPUR HYBRID ODYSSEAN EDITION: A GLIMPSE INTO BENTLEY’S FUTURE”. Bentley Newsroom. Retrieved 24 March 2023.

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