2014 BENTLEY Flying Spur Review

Bentley are outstanding illusionists, we know that. These Brits make their 2.5-tonne monsters feel considerably lighter and with the 2014 Flying Spur they’re promising their most potent four-door model ever.

The first thing that came to our mind upon hearing the carmaker’s claim was the impression that the new Flying Spur would only be even more of a Bentley. The super sedan market has changed a bit since the company launched the Continental Flying Spur in 2005. Back then, this was some sort of a four-door incarnation of the Continental GT. Bentley’s response to the segment’s evolution was to try and set the Flying Spur apart, offer it its own identity.

Nonetheless, before we venture inside this piece of British opulence, we have to point out that we are dealing with a major revamp, not an all-new model here.

Mirroring the refreshed Continental GT lineup, the Flying Spur now receives serious touches in all areas, losing the “Continental” part of its designation in the process. The overall changes go deeper than what the mild visual makeover suggests. As for the actual extent to which Bentley has touched its smaller sedan offering, finding this out shall be one of the quests of our review.

Now about those appearances... When your car measures 5,295 mm (208.5 inches) in length, aiming to make it appear wider and lower is only natural. This is precisely what Bentley designers did.

They pulled all sorts of tricks out of their elegant hats in order to achieve this. The Flying Spur starts with a lower front air intake running uninterrupted from one side of the car to the other. Above, we have a more vertical chrome grille - imagine yourself raising the collar of your white shirt.

And if the Bentley Continental GT comes with a softer shoulder line uniting the front fenders with the rear ones, the Flying Spur takes a bolder approach. There’s a massive line right below the glass area, which sets the car apart. By the way, that white shirt comes with a set of new cufflinks, the B-shaped front wing vents.

With a gentle touch like the one you use to pet a feline, the roofline has been slightly lowered. At the rear, we find a boot lid that’s been elongated and sits lower. This is made of polymer composite in order to save weight and accommodate the Bentley’s antennas.

The boot lid is not the only structural change. The bonnet and the front wings are aluminum, while the doors are now made of fewer parts.