Bentley Continental Flying Spur

[LateNightCable]

That's with living things, but if a car is going to cost $100,000+ and carry the Bentley badge, it better look the part.

[Funkymonkey]

This is my first post here and i registered just for this.
I had the privilge of bieng able to attend the launch of this car last night in Preston with the Ribble valley dealership.
While we were waiting for the unvieling itself, my old man and I were discussing the pictures of the car from various angles which were all around the place. Almost instantly we both decided it could be the S-type's bigger brother, as from most angles it looks strikingly similar.

When you get in to the car, the first thing i noticed was just how much plastic there was! its everywhere! To me, this was a major dissapointment and kind of spoils the car as a whole.

There is no doubt that arnage buyers wont be changing to this model any time soon and that its aimed squarly at S-class merc, 7-series and Jag XJ owners looking to go upmarket a bit.

There is no doubt though, at £115,000 this car is excellent value as there is nothing in the marketplace that can begin to compare on a like for like basis.

This car drives like no bentley before, except for the GT of course and is a beautiful place to be, however i think its just been influence too much by the german accountants.

As for my old man, he's sticking with his SL55 for now. He put a deposit down fot the GT convertable, from what i was able to get from the bentley guys its about 2 years off, probably launching around the end of 2006, it looks amazing, probably a soft top, 4 seats, but its not official yet. It has to go through a number of development stages so at the moment its nothing more than a concept. I did manage to find out that the order list has about 250 deposits already, possibly more!

[LateNightCable]

Hey Monkee , greetings to the forum.

Too cheap for leather overlay even, just plastic huh? It is a pretty decent deal, but even still it's a VW/Audi in disguise. For an upmarket offering it works, but for a Bentley, it's downscale and all about selling a name. That doesn't appeal to me.

The whole reason people buy Bentley is because there is no other production car today that is hand crafted to such a high degree, and offering the finest materials everywhere - With possible exception to Rolls-Royce. In that respect, a budget Bentley doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Except for VW in financial terms.

[thepolarfoxqx]

it's a phaeton, it rides on a phaeton platform, has a turbo form of the phaeton engine, has the same hoor gear, gear shifter, center console, it's all straight from the phaeton. also, it's built in germany.

[LateNightCable]

We'll just call it the VW Phaeton "Crewe Package".

It's sad seeing the great marques of yore being pimped these days. No one has to wonder why I like older cars better.

[thepolarfoxqx]

That's all it amounts to. I used to think parts bin cars was like buying a pontiac bonneville with the same doorhandle as a chevy cavalier, but when half the interior bits of a bentley come from a VW, that's just too cheap.

[zit]

i can honestly say i think that bentley is going downhill , i dont mean the company good sales reflect this but in my opinion bentley is going to get golfitas , where all its cars in the future will be the exact same thing underneath .

[LateNightCable]

Bentley sales will probably increase quite substantially because of cheapo VW based entry level models. They will be Bentley's in name only.

Odd how thay haven't yet sold out the Bugatti name in the same way.

[dead58]

I dont think you should be outright dismissing this car, it has presence without being overstated. It has supercar performance (0-60mph in 4.9 seconds, and top speed of 195mph+) and is one of the most luxurious cars on the market. Just because it shares a few bits and bobs from the VW parts bin doesnt mean those parts arent quality - remember Aston Martin used switchgear from a Ford Mondeo in their DB7 - but this is no where near that extent. Its hand-built and beatifully put together - and to compare it to the hideous Phaeton because it shares the same platform and a few bits is beyond belief. Remember whats the point in making a car if your not going to make a profit? This car still has the same "Bentley Magic" - its still built in Britain mostly.

Some people are having a go at it for being "entry-level" - but i dont see how you can describe it as that with prices starting at £115,000 going upto £245,000. Thats a lot of money for a lot of car, and is sensibly priced for the market.

[LateNightCable]

It's a discount Bentley that isn't based on a Bentley, that draws away from it regardless of how nice it is. Having seen a Continental GT in person, I doubt the Flying Spur will have a lot of presence either. I expect more than plastic headlamp covers for that kind of money anyway.