The 2025 Flying Spur Is the Perfect Bentley: First Drive Review (2024)

At this very moment, our solar system is hurtling through space at 450,000 miles per hour—a fact that is equal parts fascinating and terrifying. Yet, even as the solar system flies at a rate our tiny monkey brains can hardly comprehend, here on Earth we don't feel a damn thing.

You'll experience a similar sensation in the new Bentley Flying Spur, a vehicle nearly as big as the Milky Way itself. It sure as hell doesn't feel like I'm moving all that quickly through the Arizona desert, swaddled in the finest leather while the front seat massages my rump. But a brief peek at the speedometer suggests otherwise.

You'd hardly know the Flying Spur was fast just by looking at it. The design barely changes from this year to last; Minor updates to the fascias and some new 22-inch wheel options keep it fresh, while two tiny "Speed" badges on either side of the front bumpers are the only indicators of this car's overwhelming performance.

A long, lovely hood hides the Flying Spur's thruster: A new twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 plug-in hybrid. Bentley wrapped up production of its iconic W-12 earlier this year, with the Bentayga, Continental GT, and now, Flying Spur, moving to this plug-in-hybrid setup.

Photo by: Jeff Perez / Motor1

But worry not, fellow space travelers, Bentley has made battery-assisted perfection here. Thanks to some engineering help from Porsche, a single electric motor embedded within the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission and a 25.9-kilowatt-hour (net) battery pack help the Flying Spur to 771 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque.

Even with four fewer cylinders, this is the most-powerful Flying Spur the company has ever built. The engine develops more torque than the previous car at lower engine speeds, higher peak torque, and a higher power output throughout the rev range. With that extra oomph, it's half a second quicker than the previous car to sixty. And although it's no longer capable of 200 mph, the Flying Spur's 177 mile-per-hour top speed is still plenty fast enough.

Photo by: Jeff Perez / Motor1

Pros: Extremely Pretty, Bonkers Fast, Exceptionally Lavish

Racing through the desert in this six-figure super sedan, it's easy to reach illegal speeds without trying. This car has so much power; Gobs of torque on the low-end thanks to that electric motor and a wave of energy atop the tach from the still-powerful-on-its-own V-8. Even when you're barely touching the throttle, the powertrain feels like it's constantly pulling you along.

What's most impressive, though, is how unbelievably smooth it is. Carlos Santana and Rob Thomas would shed a tear. There's no lag when hammering the throttle and hardly a hiccup when the car switches from pure EV mode to hybrid. Even at high speeds, there's no in-fighting between battery power and gas—they're a perfect duo (just like Carlos and Rob).

Photo by: Bentley

Photo by: Bentley

The Flying Spur has a pure EV mode with 46 miles of range on the generous WLTP cycle in Europe (probably closer to 40 miles in the US) that works at speeds of up to 87 miles per hour (or 75-percent throttle application). Using electric power to cruise on the highway is easy, so long as you're light on the throttle. And when plugging into an 11.0-kilowatt charger, it takes less than three hours to fill up with electrons.

If you prefer no battery power at all, select Sport Hold mode to employ that V-8 exclusively. Even with 200 fewer horses on tap, the V-8 is potent enough to send the Flying Spur down the road with real speed. It even sounds great; A beautiful burble belts out of the back of the dual exhaust tips. A cold start on a crisp Arizona morning, there are clear shades of Sant'Agata Bolognese in its DNA.

Photo by: Jeff Perez / Motor1

Cons: No More W-12, It Won't Fit In My Driveway

But this car isn't just a straight-line bomber. The Flying Spur handles pretty well for a 5,833-pound land yacht. Four fewer cylinders in the engine bay means less mass over the nose, while the battery shoved under the trunk floor adds some weight to the rear for improved balance. For the first time, the Flying Spur has a slight rear bias (48.3 front, 51.7 rear).

That makes this car adept at carving through the red rock-lined roads of Sedona. A new Performance Active Chassis with all-wheel drive, an electronic limited-slip differential, and all-wheel steering help shrink the 17.5-foot-long sedan around the driver. The steering is highly responsive and there isn't a hint of “floatiness;” It's much nicer to pedal hard than any product Rolls-Royce currently puts out.

The new twin-valve dampers do wonders for the ride quality. They're almost identical to the ones found on the Porsche Panamera, and funnily enough, similar to those on the off-road-oriented Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison. They manage compression and rebound independently of each other, which means a stiffer setup in Sport mode, yet the same signature sumptuous ride quality in Comfort. Even on the bumpiest road, the ride is sublime—there's nary a pothole that upsets it.

Photo by: Jeff Perez / Motor1

Photo by: Jeff Perez / Motor1

Riding in any of the four seats is a lavish experience, as you'd expect. Every throne comes with updated Nappa leather featuring a unique “3D” diamond-quilted pattern that offers better perforation for heating and ventilation. Honestly, they're not super soft (maybe they need more time to break in), but they are excellently shaped and have countless options to keep you comfortable, including a new automatic postural adjustment that can detect slouching and change the seating position on the fly. Bentley says it'll prevent a “numb bum,” which it certainly did over a few hours on desert roads.

Modern amenities include a 12.3-inch touchscreen in the center stack that looks good and is easy to use. It has wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, and flips into the dashboard with the press of a button, exposing a full-length, open-pore walnut dash. Nifty. Passengers in the second row even have access to a tiny tablet that controls basic functions like seat controls, air conditioning, and the ability to hide or reveal the “Flying B” logo on the nose of the car. Why? Because it's fun.

As you'd expect, buying a Bentley of this magnitude is no small investment. The 2025 Flying Spur starts at $276,450 (with the $4,150 destination fee included) and costs $330,540 after options. You'll have to pay extra for a premium audio system ($9,615), this beautiful Neptune Blue metallic paint ($8,665), and the fancy folding display ($6,955)—among a few other things.

Photo by: Jeff Perez / Motor1

But the Flying Spur Speed somehow still feels like a deal, even at that price. You can't get into the newest Rolls-Royce Ghost for less than $330,000, and even a comparable Mercedes-Maybach S-Class costs $205,000 before you add on the really good stuff. And frankly, neither one comes close to the all-around excellence that the Flying Spur offers.

Even in the era of downsizing and electrification, Bentley (or, really, the larger Volkswagen Group) has developed a performance powertrain that doesn't feel like a downgrade to the beloved W-12. It's more powerful, more lively, and in the ongoing battle to appease the efficiency overloads, slightly less consuming.

W-12 or not, the 2025 Flying Spur is still everything a Bentley should be.

Competitors

• Mercedes-Maybach S-Class
• Rolls-Royce Ghost