Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed: Harnessing the gargantuan beast

August 25, 2008

It will corner adroitly, but the weight of the engine means the nose always wants to run wide of the corner. The Speed modifications have taken a slight toll of refinement, but they have improved the car’s balance, turn-in and steering feedback immeasurably. Modifications to the air bellows in the suspension have improved if not totally cured the buzzing low-speed ride as well, which is something of a bétè noir of air suspension. The standard car, with its paltry 560bhp, rides over low-speed crinkles marginally better, but at higher velocities the Speed model is much the superior riding and handling car; Uli Eichhorn reckons that it will account for about 40 per cent of sales.

The engine is the same stalwart power plant derived from two narrow-angle VR6 units and still has that unburstable almost turbine-like quality of the other Continental derivatives.

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