Elite Traveler Summer 2020

Bentley 2020 Flying Spur Like any coachbuilder with a century’s worth of automotive design and production, Bentley, for a time, lost its way. The splashy unveiling of the new Flying Spur, however, completes a powerful trifecta that’s poised to propel the British brand firmly into the next epoch. Alongside the Bentayga and freshly unwrapped Continental, the Flying Spur gives new meaning to founder WO Bentley’s objective to build “a fast car, a good car, the best in its class.” In its third generation, Flying Spur sits on the same basic platform as the Porsche Panamera, a fellow member of the Volkswagen Group. But that’s where the similarities end. Flying Spur’s formidable 6.0-liter, twin-turbocharged W12 mated to an advanced dual-clutch, eight-speed transmission serves two masters; it’s a sports sedan meant to be driven but also a luxury limousine assuming the authority of the

Mulsanne, which ceases production this year. Dripping in grandiose English luxury, from the pedigreed upright grille on the exterior to the world’s first three-dimensional, diamond-quilted leather inside, the 626 hp Flying Spur commands attention. A purposeful weight adds a sense of timelessness to the hand-carved wooden buttons, knurled aluminum bezels and rotating display, a trio of dashboard options that flip from a 12.3-in HD display to a blank wood veneer or a threesome of analog dials (time, temperature and compass). Fear not — the champagne fridge remains, albeit surrounded by a 2,200-watt, 16-speaker audio system with two active bass transducers, should the bubbly need a little beat. From $214,600, bentleymotors.com

Laser-cut to shape, the Flying Spur’s crisp lines come courtesy of its superforming aluminum shaping process, which heats the metal to over 900 degrees Fahrenheit before pressing it into a mold

Photos Richard Pardon