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The need for speed and tweed –
the Bentley Flying Spur Speed delivers

In the market for a luxury saloon and high performance sports car all in one package? Look no further than the Bentley Flying Spur Speed.

The 2009 Bentley Flying Spur succeeds its 2005 debut with more refinement, comfort, choice and the addition of the fastest car the manufacturer has ever made – the Speed brings GT performance figures to the more practical four-door saloon.

This beauty has a squarer, more upright grille, bolder lower air intake and slimmer rear bumper to update a car that manages to combine elegance with an almighty road presence.

Design cues that distinguish the Speed from its stablemate are subtle, but stand out to enthusiasts, and include dark-tinted radiator, air intake grilles, rifled exhaust tail pipes, “Speed” tread plates on all four doors, and unique multi-spoke 20-inch alloy wheels.

Looks combine with luxury, with a clear indication that this is a car which means business.

This is echoed in the classy interior where yards and yards of extremely supple leather (double-stitched by hand, of course) grace all that one sees. In fact, just stitching the steering wheel takes a craftsman three hours!

The goods don’t stop there, Burr walnut adorns the fascia (dash), console, and door waist rails.

If you don’t like the colour choice of 17 standard interior hide colours, or if the pattern in the wood is not to your liking, the good folks at Bentley will be more than happy with you opening your wallet to make your Flying Spur Speed truly bespoke.

Bentley and sound experts, Naim, claim that the “Naim for Bentley” is the world’s best in-car audio system. They will get no arguments from me. The system features the world’s most powerful in-car production amplifier, combined with a state-of-the-art speaker system. With 1 100 watts, 15 speakers and a next-generation digital signal processor (DSP), the Naim for Bentley system is powerfully impressive.

This system is about sound, and about reproducing that sound in the purest way possible.

For example, the DSP offers eight modes to enhance your listening experience. Most in-car DSP systems adjust equalisation by using a small microphone to read background noise.

Naim uses variable equaliser settings based on the speed of the car, supplying a new setting for every one-kilometre of speed change it senses. Carlos Santana never sounded better!

Road manners in the Flying Spur Speed are equally impressive. The 552-horsepower W12 engine in the base Flying Spur has been massaged to output a whopping 600 horsepower.

This car weighs over 5 400 pounds, yet accelerates like an Italian sports car.

In the Flying Spur Speed, you are supremely isolated from the aural assaults you endure in lesser automobiles, yet the right amount of engine noise, when you aggressively accelerate, enters the premium cabin.

Road taming chores are handled by a computer-controlled, self-levelling, multi-link air suspension.

Pirelli PZero Rosso tyres link the Flying Spur Speed’s all-wheel drive system to terra firma.

Ride quality is excellent. It seems that no stone was left unturned in the development of this fine motorcar. Bentley research shows that 95% of people who buy a Flying Spur still own one or more Bentleys, and I now know why!

Price, you may be asking? Well, one can argue you cannot put a price on such a vehicle, but frankly, if you need to ask, you probably couldn’t afford it anyway! (R3.5 million, actually, old boy.)

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