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Bentley Flying Spur (2013 - 2019)

SPURRED ONWARDS (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Introductionword count: 46

Aware that there was a yawning gulf between the old Continental Flying Spur and the bespoke Mulsanne saloon cars, Bentley closed the gap with this more upmarket MK2 Flying Spur model which sold between 2013 and 2019. Here, we check it out as a used buy.

Modelsword count: 11

4dr Saloon (4.0 V8 [V8, V8S] / 6.0 W12 [GT, Speed])

Historyword count: 114

The Bentley Flying Spur. That's a Continental GT coupe with four doors and a boot. Some added legroom and an additional measure of frumpiness, right? In the past, that could indeed be the accusation, but with the launch of this MK2 generation model in 2013, Bentley introduced some key distinctions over this saloon and its Continental GT Coupe stablemate. The Continental tag was ditched and the brand went to great lengths to change the look and feel of the car as well, giving it a gravitas and presence its predecessor (launched in 2005) never fully possessed. This MK2 Flying Spur sold until the replacement third generation model was launched in the Autumn of 2019.

What You Getword count: 210

Bentley's styling team worked hard to give the MK2 Flying Spur its own look and feel that was notably distinct not only from its predecessor but also from the MK2 Continental GT coupe. The shape is at the same time both more athletic in its stance and more distinguished in its detailing. Sharp feature lines complement muscular rear haunches, while LED day-time running lights, dipped headlights and tail lights complement the front and rear profiles. The interior designers created a luxurious, spacious cabin that dresses advanced acoustic and electronic technologies in exquisite hand-crafted leather hides and wood veneers. How different is it to what went before? Well, only the sun visors, grab handles, armrests and some front console and controls were carried over from the outgoing car. The focus on improving comfort and sound isolation, especially in the rear seats, was helped by seating which can be adjusted in 14 different directions, not to mention heated and cooled. Original buyers could even specify the Flying Spur in four-seat or five-seat configurations. As you might well expect, the materials quality just cannot be faulted, although possibly with one exception. The gawky manual gear paddle shifters behind the steering wheel, one of the MK1 model's most unappealing interior features, were unaccountably retained.

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Scoring (subset of scores)

Category: Luxury Saloons and Estates

Performance
90%
Handling
80%
Comfort
80%
Space
70%
Styling, Build, Value, Equipment, Depreciation, Handling, Insurance and Total scores are available with our full data feed.

This is an excerpt from our full review.
To access the full content library please contact us on 0330 0020 227 or click here

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