The perfect car for world’s high fliers

If you want luxury, presence and performance look no further than this British-built sports saloon, writes Steve Teale

If you’ve done well in life, surely no-one would begrudge you a fancy home and an even fancier car?

Something sleek, elegant and easy on the eye, perhaps. And if not quite unique, certainly rare enough to catch a second glance or two.

Range Rover might be on your list. Maybe a BMW 7 Series ora Mercedes-BenzS-Class?Or a Porsche Cayenne?

But steady on. Those vehicles might be special but if you really want a car with kudos, then it really has to be a Bentley.

Welcome to the Flying Spur V8S, a £142,000 example of engineering expertise. Loaded with gadgetry, it is a car which is both sublimely smooth, yet anchored to the road like a high powered coupe.

There are arguments against this car. The main one

is that you could pay a third of the price and get an executive which is nearly as good. But the key word there is nearly.

The ride is nearly as good, the leather nearly as fine, the power nearly as smooth. If nearly is good enough, try an Audi.

But if you are lucky enough to have the funds, then the Flying Spur is the car for you.

So, what do you get for your money?Itisafive-seatersports saloon with grace and panache. A lamb in wolf ’s clothing. It is 5.3 metres long, which is longer than a Range Rover, yet it feels coupe-like in the way it rides.

You could take it to 190mph and reach 60mph in under five seconds. The figures say it is possible. The low hungry gr owl of the engine confirms it. Will it get you noticed? Well, after a week at the wheel I can tell you that people recognise it and are eager to chat about it. Which, I guess means Bentley has succeeded. You see, Bentley was considered a stuffy brand which appealed to old money. Now young money, in the shape of footballers and entrepreneurs, are happy to consider Bentley.

Is it a perfect car? Well, it is difficult to fault. The main light switches are inconveniently concealed behind the steering wheel and parking can be a pain given that car park designers think we all drive Fiat500s. But if you can live with those ‘faults’, you could live with the Flying Spur.

So, how is the price justified? The engine is one heck of a powerplant but this car has lashings of leather, chrome, wood and quality carpet. It has a sound system to die for.

On the road, it is claimed to be the world’s most refined V8 performance saloon. Power has increased over the previous version and it has improved suspension designed to offer control and handling without compromising comfort.

The increased performance is achieved without detriment to the V8 engine’s impressive fuel economy and CO2 emissions, or its ability to cover more than 520 miles between fill-ups. Flying Spur V8 S returns a combined cycle fuel economy of 25.9mpg and C02 emissions of 254g/km.

This combination of power, performance and economy is the result of some hi-tech features. Four of the eight cylinders shut down when cruising, reduces fuel consumption without any loss of refinement.

In modern Bentley tradition, power is delivered to the road via an all-wheel-drive systemforasure-footed,engaging drive in all road and weather conditions.

Flying Spur comes complete with a suite of on board technologysuch as a touch-screen control to run the car’s climate and infotainment systems from the comfort of the rear seat. Flying Spur is available with a Wi-Fi hotspot for connectivity while travelling and can be ordered with what Bentley says is the world’s finest leather hide.

Is this the best luxury sports saloon on the planet? Quite possibly.