Positive, Bentley flew me to Montana to see its headlining act, the brand new Bentayga Velocity. However earlier than a day return flight on day two, there have been another Bentleys to contemplate, lined up within the horseshoe driveway of our Huge Sky resort.
The large(ish) information right here among the many assembled non-Bentaygas is that hybrid V-8s now energy everything of the Continental GT and Flying Spur ranges, tuned to various horsepower and torque figures primarily based on trim, however all the time with a minimum of 670 horsepower and 685 pound-feet.
Bentley insists this streamlining is a profit, that its clients don’t miss the hallowed W-12 engine which used to energy the large bruisers in its portfolio. Proof is within the gross sales, they contend. W-12 purchases tailed off towards the top of the engine’s manufacturing run, whereas these subsequent V-8 Hybrids have confirmed massively fashionable, contributing massively to Bentley’s place as Volkswagen Group’s money cow.
Picture by: Kyle Kinard / Motor1
Extra importantly, the vehicles show the purpose about hybrid V-8s themselves: This powertrain sounds nice and drives superbly. I’ll name it maybe the most-refined hybrid powertrain on earth. As an engineering curiosity and connection to Bentley historical past, the W-12 can’t get replaced. From the driving force’s perspective, the V-8 hybrid ensures the outgoing W-12 received’t be missed.
In slow-moving residential areas surrounding the resort, the kick of hybrid torque eases every Bentley effortlessly up quick, punchy climbs with no single additional iota of pressure from the drivetrain. No kicking down two or three gears whenever you squeeze the gasoline pedal, interrupting the feeling you’re rolling alongside on a breeze. As an alternative, there’s merely silent, easy, assured propulsion from the hybrid motor.
So usually, hybrids are masterful companions for economic system vehicles however not often enhance sports activities or luxurious vehicles. These Bentleys present an exception to the rule.
A hybrid lineup isn’t a lot to write down house (or to readers) about, however I used to be overcome by the overwhelming Bentley-ness of each vehicles I examined. After a 45-minute rip within the Continental GTC, I merely scribbled superlatives in my pocket book.
Picture by: Kyle Kinard / Motor1
“This can be a ****** Bentley, child,” I wrote. “Like placing on a diamond necklace.”
Now, I don’t really know what it feels prefer to don a diamond necklace, in all probability as a result of I’m certain by the stolid shackles of masculinity. (Additionally I can’t afford to browse at Tiffany, so let’s go together with the shackles). However for those who’re spending the price of a pleasant Midwestern house on a type of transportation, perhaps a diamond necklace on wheels is the form of hyperbolic emotion price wheeling out of your driveway.
That’s all to say: I can get my stealth wealth hit from the again seat of a Genesis G90 or an S-Class on 19s; We glance to Crewe to ship one thing of such chic high quality and elegance that it stirs us emotionally.
So, first up, the Flying Spur Touring. Good title to say. Inexperienced roof over hanging silver physique, the paint blends so seamlessly that your fingernail can’t inform the place one layer begins and one other ends.
Picture by: Bentley
That is basic Bentley, lengthy and low and product of boxy shapes that appear to be sanded down so completely on the edges, you think about water dripping off the factor even when it’s sat beneath Montana’s cobalt sky. Nevertheless you take a look at it, the Flying Spur is breathtaking.
As a lot as I loved the Bentayga Velocity and its huge capabilities, the Flying Spur is solely the Bentley closest to my coronary heart. I suppose it’s unattainable to elucidate—although I’ll attempt—however with the Bentleys that experience nearer to the bottom as an alternative of parading round like The Mayor of Monaco on 23-inch wheels—properly, there’s simply one thing a bit extra… Bentley a few Flying Spur. Some restraint.
“A whiff of Gentry about this one,” I scribbled into my pocket book following that wafty little stint within the Flying Spur.
Picture by: Bentley
What does that truly imply? Effectively, the Flying Spur’s drivetrain doesn’t punch theatrically at your bottom when its transmission shifts throughout a flat-foot quarter-mile blast, not like the Bentayga’s mill. The Spur’s hybrid system merely smears the gear shifts collectively like a swipe of heat honey down your again whereas the engine be aware boils over gruffly on a swell of syrupy, simple mega-torque.
And maybe it’s simply how this Flying Spur was spec’d by Bentley, however there’s a stateliness to the Flying Spur’s inside that matches higher with my very own preconceptions of the Bentley namesake. The “Cumbrian Inexperienced” leather-based is laid throughout the Spur’s inside by the yard, swathing the inside in a shade of avocado-skin that feels without delay wealthy, luxuriant, and warranted in its stateliness.
You think about a brand new life from behind the wheel of a Flying Spur. This one is stuffed with tartan-lined waxed cotton jackets and perhaps a Labrador driving shotgun.
The huge leather-based surfaces are damaged solely by white distinction stitching and a walnut veneer stretching throughout the decrease sprint and heart console. This sprint format appears to be like barely outdated in comparison with the Bentayga, nevertheless it simply matches the Flying Spur.
Picture by: Kyle Kinard / Motor1
Additionally of be aware: Bentley’s new “Azure” trim. Azure is a styling package deal, primarily, sat above the bottom mannequin when it comes to value and status. It’s meant to evoke a extra easygoing but overtly luxurious tone in comparison with the “Velocity” trim we sampled within the Bentayga on day one. “Azure” arrives with a not-insignificant bump in bling, changing the outside trim to mirror-polish brightwork and slapping a pair of silver wheels on the entire thing.
Bentley’s GT/C Azure convertible cranks the posh up one other notch, however in a form of contemporary, new-age means. If the Spur is a musty form of throwback to British coachmaking’s golden age, the Azure is new luxurious; It attends kombucha-ayahuasca wellness retreats in Sonoma with the opposite girlbosses and will get there by non-public chopper.
Picture by: Kyle Kinard / Motor1
You see that perspective all through the inside of this blue-on-silver magnificence. The leather-based high quality and amount match the Flying Spur’s, however the Azure renders its inside in cooler shades, evoking a yacht’s glossy ease.
However then there’s the diamond-pattern stitching holding every leather-based panel collectively, the visible depth of the superbly painted trim items working alongside the sprint, and generally, the best way this inside appears to be like prefer it’s sitting inside a jeweler’s glass show case. This can be a lovely inside, and I can’t truthfully say that about nearly any fashionable automotive.
Picture by: Kyle Kinard / Motor1
Whereas an increasing number of clients go to Bentley for his or her SUVs, I discover that Bentley’s vehicles supply a purer expression of the model’s conventional beliefs. Even for those who in the end stroll out of the showroom with a Bentayga’s keys in your pocket, you owe it to your self to contemplate the alternate options.
