Lockdown life with a Bentley

Our man sets up camp to give luxury limo an unusual test

“HOW did you occupy yourself during lockdown?” is a question we’ll all have to get familiar with answering. As the UK government shut the country down to help tackle COVID-19, it not only confined people to their homes but also cars to their driveways, furloughed, unable to work.

So I find myself in a rather unique position. Outside my flat sits an all-new, £217,970 Bentley Flying Spur. It was only supposed to be in my possession for 24 hours before I drove it to a photoshoot and handed it on to our chief reviewer Sean Carson. But the day it arrived was the very day the Prime Minister Boris Johnson took to our TVs to tell us nobody was going anywhere. Lockdown.

So 24 hours slowly turned into days, then weeks and then months. Rather than let all of that fine craftsmanship go unused, my editor handed me one of the more unexpected briefs I’ve had as a journalist: spend a working day in the Bentley. From 09:30 until 17:30, every (virtual) meeting to be attended, every story to be written and sandwich to be eaten was to take place in the opulence of the Flying Spur. After all, Bentley says its new saloon ‘sets a new bar for modern luxury’, so it seemed like an appropriate test.

Fortunately, even during lockdown, my day starts with a slice of normality. My girlfriend, a primary school teacher, still heads into work to look after children whose parents are key workers, or those who are vulnerable. So for the foreseeable future she’s been able to swap the 607 bus for the Bentley. Talk about an upgrade.

The journey may only be a 6.6-mile round trip, but it brings with it a refreshing sense of familiarity and bite-sized opportunities to simply go for a drive. As you’d expect, given the distance, the journey is quick, helped also by the staggering lack of cars on the road at what would usually be rush hour in West London.

What you notice first about the Flying Spur is how quiet it is. Even when you fire it up, the engine is little more than a distant hum in the background. Progress is totally serene,

The journey may only be a 6.6-mile round trip, but it brings a refreshing sense of familiarity and an opportunity to drive

OPULENT Cabin surfaces are trimmed in wood, leather or aluminium

SCHOOL RUN Johnny drops off his girlfriend at her workplace, before heading home and starting his own stint working from the back seats of the Flying Spur