A luxury saloon with a thumping 616bhp under the hood! This is the new Bentley Flying Spur.
The Flying Spur’s air suspension has a ‘raise’ mode to tackle the really nasty speed breakers – almost compulsory on a car with a three-metre wheelbase. The car effortlessly steamrolls just about any size of bump, with only sharp edges making their presence felt; although this is more a result of the massive 275/35 ZR21 tyres. Even in the stiffest of four suspension settings, it doesn’t feel at all uncomfortable. It’s also a very refined cabin (the W12 is barely audible till about 4,000rpm), but here too the tyres play spoilsport, and you can hear them slapping against every expansion joint once you pick up speed. On the whole, ride and refinement are far ahead of any of the ‘conventional’ luxury saloons, but still fall a shade shy of the Rolls-Royce Ghost.
Before you start specifying this Bentley to your taste, you’ll have to set aside the starting price of Rs 3.1 crore (thank revised import taxes for that). However, the upcoming S-class promises to do a lot more than the Bentley for around half the price, and is packed with much more tech. Objectively, it doesn’t quite add up, but if you’re among those who have the means and for whom the class and exclusivity of the Flying B is paramount, it’s worth signing that cheque.