What It Is: A 2014 Bentley Continental Flying Spur—the four-door sibling
of the Continental GT coupe and GTC convertible—caught while testing wearing
fake Mercedes S-class camouflage. A lot of spy photos come through our email
inboxes, but few prove as entertaining as these shots of the next Flying Spur.
Not only did Bentley stick on some pseudo-Benz head- and taillights, but it went
so far as to affix bulging fender flares similar to those on the current
S-class. Looking past this Bentley’s drag, it’s clear that the Flying Spur will
inherit the same basic stylistic upgrades that hit the 2011 Continental GT and
2012 GTC.
Why It Matters: Bentley’s entry-level sedan has been on sale in the
same form since 2005—that’s quite the product cycle. It’s an especially long
lifespan when you consider the stratospheric sandbox in which the Flying Spur
competes; rich or poor, people tend to crave the latest and greatest, and that
counts double when customers need to shell out nearly $200,000. Mix in the
competition that appeared since the Spur first went on sale—the Rolls-Royce
Ghost (which beat the Flying Spur Speed in a comparison test), the Aston Martin
Rapide, and the upcoming Pullman version of the next Mercedes-Benz S-class—and a
freshened Flying Spur becomes even more important for Bentley.
Powertrain: The Flying Spur will again offer a twin-turbocharged
6.0-liter W-12 engine with output increasing from 552 hp to 567 for the normal
sedan; the hi-po Speed model should see its W-12 jump from 600 hp to 616. (Both
increases already were applied to the redesigned two-door W-12 Continentals.)
It’s likely that Bentley will add the same 500-hp, twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8
that’s found in “base” versions of the GT and GTC. It remains to be seen whether
Bentley will position this model as a sporty Flying Spur variant or a
fuel-economy special; either way, the V-8 does provide a tangible efficiency
benefit for the GT, which would translate to the four-door. Regardless of which
engine powers it, the 2014 Flying Spur will continue to offer only all-wheel
drive.
Competition: Aston Martin Rapide, Rolls-Royce Ghost, Mercedes-Benz
S-class AMG.
Estimated Arrival Time and Price: The upgraded Continental Flying Spur
should appear sometime next year as a 2014 model. As with nearly every new car
out there, don’t expect the Flying Spur’s base price to go anywhere but
up.
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