The complicated history of the Flying Spur For over 20 years, the mighty Bentley Continental GT has been sitting at the top of the grand tourers' food chain. Its bigger brother, though, the Flying Spur, hasn’t had quite the same success. Launched in 2005, as a four-door, more luxurious, expensive variant of the Continental, the Flying Spur wasn’t quite up to the standards of its luxury saloon rivals. Especially when compared to the far more stylish and luxurious Rolls–Royce Ghost. That changed with the third generation launched in 2019, which became Bentley’s new flagship. It made a Ghost seem pointless, offering as much luxury and style but with higher performance and a lower price tag. Recently Bentley revealed its fourth generation hybrid Continental Speed, so of course, it wasn’t long before the fourth generation hybrid Flying Spur Speed graced the roads. Has going hybrid pushed the Spur to new peaks above its rivals? A Porsche approach in design Bentley has clearly taken inspiration from Porsche's approach to design, making minimalist changes to an iconic shape that will forever remain recognizable. The new Flying Spur Speed looks virtually identical to the previous generation. The only noticeable change is that the front grille now features the Continental’s mesh design instead of that distinguished Rolls-Royce slash of the previous Spur. The interior tells a similar story. Sure there’s new “precision diamond quilt patterned seats”, a 3D diamond hide on the door and the my Bentley Studio app allows you to now integrate your favourite apps to the car’s system. But it still features the same "James Bond"-inspired rotating sat-nav screen and the same milled aluminum pumps (a homage to Bentley's glory days in the 20s). It’s still one of the best interiors of any production car. From both exterior and interior perspectives, the Spur is largely the same car as it was in 2019. But, as with Porsche, the real changes in the Spur are found beneath the surface. Hybrid power pushes Bentley to new heights Like with the Continental, the iconic W12 that was a staple to the Flying Spur Speed for nearly 20 years has now gone. Instead, under the bonnet, we find what Bentley calls the Ultra Performance Hybrid. This consists of the firm’s 12-year-old 4.0L twin-turbocharged 584 horsepower V8 working in tandem with a 187 horsepower 25.9 kWh Electric Motor. This motor sits between the engine and the eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox. The result is a stratospheric 771 horsepower and 738 lb-ft of torque. With launch control engaged, 0–62 mph takes 3.5 seconds, and the top speed is a whopping 207 mph. But it’s not just speed that breaks the records for the Flying Spur. Carbon Dioxide emissions are now below 33g/km .The electric motor provides almost 47 miles of range and when working in tandem with the petrol motor, this range increases to 515 miles. So as well as being the fastest four–door saloon in Bentley’s 105-year-old history, the new Flying Spur Speed is also the most efficient and economical. Of course, given the increased weight of 2.6 tonnes, the performance and efficiency aren’t quite as groundbreaking as they were in the new Continental. But with added luxury and a four-door setup, the new Speed sets new peaks in the luxury car department. Why buy a Ghost? The Flying Spur Speed breaks yet another record for Bentley. At $300,000, it is the most expensive four-door car in Bentley’s history. However, it won’t be the only variant of the Spur, as less powerful versions will come in due time. Amazingly, it’s still an incredible $53,000 less than a base-spec Rolls–Royce Ghost. Despite offering the same level of luxury, higher efficiency, significantly greater performance, and technology so advanced, it makes the Rolls feel like it came from the 20th Century. Finally, the king of it’s class The new Flying Spur Speed has not only set new records in terms of performance and efficiency in Bentley’s 105-year-old history, but from facts and figures, it is in a completely different league from its competition. This hybridization of both the Spur and Continental, respectively, has pushed Bentley to be by far the best in their class. It’s only a matter of time before the Bentayga follows suit. ManufacturerBentley Motors LtdModelFlying Spur SpeedYear of Release2025Engine4.0L Twin–Turbo V8 with 25.9kWh Electric MotorHorsepower771hpTorque738 lb–ft0–62mph (100km/h)3.5 secondsTop Speed207mph (333 km/h)Weight2,675kg (2.7 tonnes)Power to Weight288 hp per tonneGearbox8 – speed Porsche PDK Dual ClutchDriven WheelsAll Wheel DriveRivalsRolls–Royce Ghost, Maybach S680 Source: Bentley
