New Bentley Flying Spur - a Masterclass?

[cardigankid]

New Flying Spur, just launched. I may be biased but I think this is the most beautiful saloon car in the world at this moment. The previous two iterations of the Flying Spur have been disappointing - particularly the first, which was very dowdy indeed. The last one was better, but not visually impressive or even immediately recognisable as a Bentley.

This one is, and then some. Great work Mr. Sielaff.

I don’t doubt that it will perform and handle. Will it waft? That was an issue with the first one. It would do 200 mph but it was far too harsh for a Bentley saloon. This left you with the Mulsanne, which is a great car, but very much bigger.

[cardigankid]

With the possible exception of the Rolls-Royce Ghost.

That is marvellous, the two top car makers in the world make the two best cars. Poetic.

[ntlr]

I actually really like it - to me, it's a huge difference over the prior generations, and it really does look way more aggressive. I'd almost consider it as a replacement for my Mulsanne for the tech, improvements, and AWD... but I'll wait to see what might follow the Mulsanne before deciding.

[cardigankid]

To my mind, it is the new Mulsanne. It's got a lot of Mulsanne details. it is not a small car, which would be impossible. That, with an extended wheelbase and a two tone paint scheme would be a very convincing limousine. It would also lend itself to even more sporting editions - wider arches (if that is not a gross suggestion), wheels, a few subtle louvres, and a 6.75 Litre V8? Red Label?

I like the strakes and the matrix grille, but not both. if they are going for strakes they need to be deeper.

[Mulsanne-Speed]

My local dealer hinted to me last year that the Mulsanne may well be going around 2020.

I don't think sales have been particularly great for the Mulsanne in recent years and this new Flying Spur will aim to be a mix of the two, making the Mulsanne obsolete. Also, this car will almost certainly be much cheaper for Bentley to produce.

The new car certainly looks very nice but will it have the same quality feel that in my opinion, only the Mulsanne has. Details like the weight of the indicator stalks, beautifully crafted solid steel polished air vents and a complete absence of any part feeling like cheap plastic, or spray painted chrome - Im not sure.

[London GT3]

I really like this too. Beautiful looks. I had a 2013 Continental Speed W12 for 2 years and really enjoyed it. It didn't met the needs of being a comfortable saloon for 4 adults but this new Flying Spur looks like it will tick all the boxes and on an even more modern platform. I think depreciation would cause me to wait until a well specced two year old version with 5,000 miles comes to the market at £110,000 rather than paying circa £180,000 to £190,000 brand new.

[cardigankid]

I don’t think that a Mulsanne is a bad investment. I love the scale of it, though I thought that the original grille design suited the Mulsanne better. It has got to be a more handcrafted piece of work, but the new car makes the Flying Spur relevant for the first time, and as the Mulsanne reaches the end of its production cycle, you can see this model being developed as a successor. It could be made larger, maybe a 6.75 litre Red Label, with Mulliner bringing the details up to a Mulsanne level of craftsmanship.

[Macboy]

cardigankid said:

I don’t think that a Mulsanne is a bad investment. I love the scale of it, though I thought that the original grille design suited the Mulsanne better. It has got to be a more handcrafted piece of work, but the new car makes the Flying Spur relevant for the first time, and as the Mulsanne reaches the end of its production cycle, you can see this model being developed as a successor. It could be made larger, maybe a 6.75 litre Red Label, with Mulliner bringing the details up to a Mulsanne level of craftsmanship.

When Mulsanne ends production so does the 6.75 because developing the engine for tiny production volumes is one of the main reasons the car is/will become uneconomic to produce.