Bentley today unveiled the Flying Spur Speed, the more powerful and fastest version of its four-door luxury sedan. Powered by the automaker’s 6.0-liter, twin-turbo W12 engine, the new Flying Spur Speed will be able to reach a top speed of 207 mph. With the departure of the Flying Spur W12, the new Speed version will be one of 2 ways Flying Spur customers can get the iconic W12. The other is the Flying Spur Mulliner. Being more focused on performance than comfort, though, the Flying Spur Speed’s version of the engine gets 626 hp and 900 Nm of torque, which is 84 hp and 130 Nm of torque more than the Mulliner model.
That allows it to accelerate to 96
km/h in 3.7 seconds, 0.4 seconds faster than the standard W12 model, which went
out of production last May. Power is sent to all four wheels via an eight-speed
dual-clutch transmission from ZF. Bentley fans will remember the transmission
from the Continental GT, and it makes gearshifts smoother by pre-selecting
gears to shorten the torque interruption between cogs.
The all-wheel-drive system in the Flying
Spur Speed emphasizes on sending power to the rear wheels. The torque
distribution has been balanced to make turn-in response feel lightning quick
and to minimize understeer. Torque vectoring and all-wheel steering systems,
meanwhile, ensure that the sedan is agile around corners. The fastest version
of the Flying Spur gets unique 22-inch “Speed” wheels, while the front brake
rotors are massive 420-mm units to help slow the car down. The calipers are
painted red with Bentley branding, but black calipers can be selected for an
extra charge.
A new front splitter, side skirts, rear
diffuser, and rear spoiler are all added to the model’s exterior and are
crafted by hand out of high-gloss carbon fiber. The Blackline Specification can
also be selected to darken all of the exterior trim pieces and lend the Flying
Spur Speed an even more sinister appearance.
Inside the Flying Spur Speed makes
extensive use of Dinamica Plus, an eco-friendly microfiber textile that’s made
of 73 percent recycled polyester. Of course, this being a Bentley, it also uses
a lot of leather, with 15 colors to choose from, and piano black trim coming to
the model as standard. Crown Cut Walnut, Dark Stained Burr Walnut, and Dark
Fiddleback Eucalyptus, though, are also available for the trim pieces at no
extra cost. A new performance mode for the infotainment system, meanwhile,
takes its inspiration from chronographs used in motorsport.
Bentley expects to sell most of the Flying
Spur Speeds in the U.S. and Europe, with the Middle East following close
behind. Pricing and availability will be offered at a later date.


