Used 2017 Bentley Flying Spur

An ultra-luxury sedan that costs more than $200,000, the 2017 Bentley Flying Spur is exclusive, opulent and capable of 200 mph. It’s available with a V8 or 12-cylinder engine (both twin-turbocharged), standard all-wheel drive and the old-world style/craftsmanship that has been separating Bentleys from the luxury-car chaff for nearly a century. Four models are available: the Flying Spur V8 and V8 S, and the Flying Spur W12 and Flying Spur W12 S with the larger and more powerful 6.0-liter engine. The 626-horsepower W12 S model can reach 202 mph and is the first Bentley to exceed 200 mph. Only its EPA city rating of 12 mpg is more spectacular, although its 0-60-mph acceleration of 4.2 seconds is pretty impressive too.

If you read its spec sheets, you’d swear the new 2017 Bentley Flying Spur was an all-out racer with an uncomfortable ride and a noisy interior. The kind of car that’s only useful for an early morning coffee run on Sunday. A toy. That’s not the case. The all-wheel-drive Spur is a luxury sedan first. Sure, it packs massive amounts of horsepower, enough to propel this 5,000-plus-pound car to dizzying speeds in an eye blink, but its interior is quiet, its air suspension provides a proper ride and its steering is light. The Flying Spur is easy to drive, but fun to drive fast and it feels smaller the harder you push it, which is saying something since this car is more than 17 feet long. Dial it back, and it is hushed, refined and exceedingly comfortable, even though the 21-inch wheels tend to pound over smaller bumps.

Inside the new Flying Spur is a daring, dazzling and dramatic combination of fine leather, artisan woods and modern technology. It’s as if Prince Harry asked Apple’s designers to rethink the Queen’s library. The comfortable driver’s seat is firm, but wide and well-shaped, and there’s available lamb’s-wool carpet as deep as summer grass. Everything feels as good as it looks, but the 8-inch infotainment screen smacks as a bit small at this price. Rear-seat room is also impressive, but skip the standard "4+1" seating and go for the 4-seat version, which bisects the rear positions with a full-length console.

There’s an old-world charm and understated elegance to the Flying Spur, but, like Daniel Craig’s James Bond, this ultra-luxury sedan combines that British sophistication with a modern muscularity and masculine attitude. Its wide stance and long, flowing lines are shared with Bentley’s Continental Coupe and Mulsanne flagship, and the result is proper and understated with minimal ornamentation aside from an artful use of bright trim and the brand’s unmistakable horizontal grille. The four headlights, surrounded by LEDs, float in the sheet metal, and its tail tapers beautifully as it appears to push the all-wheel-drive sedan to the road.

TWIN-TURBOCHARGED W12 ENGINE
When a 521-horsepower V8 just isn’t enough, step up to the Flying Spur W12. Its 616-horsepower 6.0-liter 12-cylinder engine makes this massive sedan one of the fastest cars on the road. It rockets from 0-60 mph in just 4.3 seconds and to a top speed of 199 mph.

BOTTLE COOLER
If you drive a Flying Spur there’s always a reason to celebrate, so Bentley offers an optional refrigerated bottle cooler elegantly nestled between the sedan’s rear seats. It’s large enough to chill a bottle of your favorite Krug Grande and comes with frosted glass and two bespoke champagne flutes.

That big price tag gets you a big sedan, filled with big-ticket items. The interior is awash in wood and leather, the front seats are power-adjustable 14 different ways, and there are multi-zone climate control, bright bi-xenon headlights, a turbocharged V8 and standard all-wheel drive. The infotainment system standard on the Flying Spur features an AM/FM/CD/DVD player that plays through an 8-channel/8-speaker audio system. Navigation is also standard as is the rearview camera. Interestingly, while Bluetooth wireless connectivity and an SD-card slot are standard, there’s no standard USB connection.

Options include the praiseworthy 14-speaker Naim audio system, and rear-seat passengers can indulge with their own rear-seat entertainment system, complete with tablet-style remote control, wireless headphones and built-in Wi-Fi hotspot. Rear-seat occupants also have access to a built-in bottle cooler for drinks and snacks. The Mulliner models offer even larger wheels and finer interior details. The Bentley Flying Spur offers adaptive cruise control, but curiously, neither blind-spot monitoring nor lane-departure warning — features common on modern budget compacts — is available.

Every Bentley Flying Spur is twin-turbocharged and powerful enough to dust many exotic sports cars and German super sedans. The Flying Spur V8 gets a twin-turbocharged V8 that makes an impressive 500 horsepower. In the V8 S model, that engine gets additional torque and output surges to 521 horsepower. The Flying Spur is powered by a 6.0-liter W12 (yes, the cylinders are arranged in a “W”) that adds four more cylinders and a solid 116 horsepower to the sedan. And in the W12 S model, that engine generates 626 horsepower, enough for a 202-mph top speed. Both engines are connected to an excellent 8-speed automatic transmission, which can be shifted manually using paddles on the steering wheel. All Bentley Flying Spurs feature all-wheel drive, which enhances traction.

4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8
500 horsepower @ 6,000 rpm (521 horsepower in V8 S)
487 lb-ft of torque @ 1,700 rpm (502 lb-ft in V8 S)
EPA city/high fuel economy: 14/24 mpg

6.0-liter twin-turbocharged W12
616 horsepower @ 6,000 rpm (626 horsepower in W12 S)
590 lb-ft of torque @ 1,700 rpm (605 lb-ft in W12 S)
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 12/20 mpg

Note: Due to changes in EPA testing to more effectively reflect real-world conditions, some 2017 models show slightly lower fuel-economy scores than their 2016 versions.