2007 Bentley Continental Flying Spur Review
27 Oct, 2007
7 Comments 
Approximately 5 hours is taken to double-stitch the steering wheel by hand, which is accomplished by two needles simultaneously. The wheel contains controls for all functions needed, and is textured enough for grip, but soft enough for comfort. Every luxury is included, as is expected. Uniquely, the door mirrors are linked to the rear-view mirrors, and are self-dimming. This is a big plus at night, when hordes of drivers have their headlights incorrectly adjusted.
The driving position, with 16-way adjustment for the front seats, is naturally comfortable, although the dual split armrests can elevate your elbows a little too high. Housed in the centre console is the infotainment system which is complete with electronic handbook, satellite-navigation, television, 12 channel sound system, and ride height and damper settings. It’s best to leave the damper control on the softest setting as it gives you the nicest ride. On a car that is designed to carry passengers in such luxury, the firmest sports setting seems a tad harsh.
However, the damping and aerodynamics come into their own when at speed. On a closed section of country road for the test drive, we wound the big Bentley up to over 200km/h. Where a HSV and FPV have felt floaty and nervous, with a distinct lightening of the front end, the Continental Flying Spur was solid, stable, confident. No skipping over bumps or twitchiness, the Flying Spur took it all in its stride. Thank the combination of underbody diffuser, integrated bootlip spoiler and air suspension which drops the ride height by 20mm at speed.
No wonder the Bentley sales manager shot me a stare of horror. He recoiled in offence when I called the Flying Spur a limo. “Ahem, Bentleys are sports cars.” Whoops, sorry. But you could be forgiven, because under ownership of Rolls-Royce, the Bentleys of days past were basically just that - Rolls-Royces. Change the front end a bit, a few badges here and there and you have a Bentley. Nowadays, the brand has gone back to their heritage, with appearances at Le Mans again, and extensive involvement in driver training, with Derek Bell being the chief instructor. After all, you’re driven in a Roller, in a Bentley YOU drive.
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(17 votes, average: 4.82 out of 5)
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October 27th, 2007 at 10:17 pm
My anti spam word was Bentley……spooky!!!!!!!!!
More than a car……a work of art!
Fantastic review ! Gob smacked!!!!!!!!!!
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October 28th, 2007 at 12:38 am
This old man’s car does absolutely nothing for me. It looks dated already. The Continental GT, now that’s a car W.O. would have been proud of. By the way, the rear tray tables are half as wide as those in the 1969 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow which would surely have more interior room than the Bentley. Better looking car too!
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October 28th, 2007 at 1:33 am
The front end looks a bit too much like the Cadillac CTS. :-\
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October 28th, 2007 at 10:12 am
Lol, my anti-spam word was bentley aswell. It is a good looking car, the GT is even better.
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November 13th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
yum, yum, yum! can i have one mum? pleeeeease? lol
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November 25th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
I’ve driven one and at high speed too! Not a Motorkhana weapon and needs a big parking space. It won’t fit in my garage! Driving it was sheer joy for me though. Great power and fantastic handling for such a big car. I found driving the Spur to be a better experience than driving the GT strangely enough. If you can’t afford to buy it you can’t afford to run it though. Heavy on the juice but oh so good!
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December 21st, 2007 at 12:55 pm
My Anti-Spam word was bentley also……………………..there is something going on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ah…Yes it is a nice car!!!!
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