1. PERSONAL BUSI N ESS
Road Test
Wanted:
Back-Seat Drivers
Bentley’s new Flying Spur sedan hopes to capitalize on
the success of the Continental GT coupe.
By Alan Katz
‚Engineers at Bentley
Motors, a Crewe, Eng-
land–based division of
Volkswagen AG, spent a lot
of energy making the back
seat of the new $170,000
Continental Flying Spur
luxurious. Supple brown
leather covers not only the
seats but also the ceiling.
Supportive backrests and
curved cushions keep you
centered around turns. A
wood-topped console runs
along the drive shaft down
the middle of the back-
seat floor and includes
electronic controls to tilt
the rear seats and activate
the lumbar mas-
sage. Of course, it
has cup holders.
Polished-walnut
windowsills add
to the beauty.
Why spend
so much time
on the details
for the rear of a
sedan that has
a top speed of
195 miles (314
kilometers) per
hour; a 12-cylin-
der, 552-horse-
power twin-turbo
engine; and the
ability to go from
0 to 60 mph in
4.9 seconds? Be-
cause owners,
or their family
members, will be as likely
to be driven in the car as to
do the driving. Those who
just want to drive them-
selves might choose the Fly-
ing Spur’s sister ship, the
sporty-looking, two-door,
$155,000 Continental GT
coupe, which is 20 inches
(50.8 centimeters) shorter.
The two models share
nearly two-thirds of their
parts, and from the front,
they’re identical, with the
same crisscross-mesh grille
topped by the company’s
flying wings logo and
flanked by four round head-
lights. From the windshield
back, though, the visual dif-
ference is considerable, with
the GT’s crouched, pounce-
ready stance transformed
into a long and slightly
heavy silhouette.
Bentley last year built
6,896 GTs and sold 6,715
of them, representing 90
percent of the division’s
sales. Volkswagen, based
in Wolfsburg, Germany,
doesn’t release specific rev-
enue and profit information
for the unit. Chief Executive
Officer Franz-Josef Paefgen
said in March that Bent-
ley had a “modest” operat-
ing profit last year, the first
The long, low line of the Bentley Flying Spur
sedan radiates comfort and performance.
Bloomberg Markets
November 2005 153
WHAT IS IT? The four-door-
sedan sibling of the Conti-
nental GT sports coupe
WHAT’S UNDER THE HOOD?
A 12-cylinder, 552-hp
twin-turbo engine
PERFORMANCE: Goes from
zero to 60 mph in 4.9
seconds and from zero to
100 mph in 5.2 seconds.
The top speed is 195 mph.
SIZE: 209 inches long, 58
inches high, 121-inch wheel
base
PRICE: Starts at $170,000
in the U.S.
At a Glance

2. For Bentley’s Web site, type EUAU <Go> 3 <Go>.
since Volkswagen bought
the company in 1998. Profit
this year will be a little bit
higher, he said then.
North America is the
single biggest market for
the Flying Spur, Bentley
says, accounting for 35
percent of advance orders
through Aug. 24. Already
available in Europe this
summer, the model reached
U.S. shores in September.
wheel during a test drive,
that extra stability came
in handy. It was raining in
the Dolomite Alps north of
Venice. Climbing through
eight switchbacks, with the
speedometer rising, there
wasn’t even a hint of skit-
tishness or chop from the
tires. The car kept its line
without needing to engage
the electronic skid control.
To really enjoy the twists,
3.2-ton (2.9-metric-ton)
car forward. “The car is a
fraction slower in its move-
ment than the GT,” says
Derek Bell, five-time win-
ner of the 24-hour Le Mans
endurance car race and an
adviser to Bentley.
Braking is powerful and
smooth, with 15.9-inch disc
brakes in the front and 13.2-
inch discs in the rear. The
car also lowers the chassis
automatically at high speeds
to improve stability.
Bentley has received
about 4,000 orders for the
Flying Spur worldwide and
has a 12-month waiting list.
The Flying Spur will com-
pete primarily against
DaimlerChrysler AG’s
$170,000, 604-hp
Mercedes-Benz S65 sedan
and Bayerische Motoren
Werke AG’s 438-hp,
$117,000 760Li model.
The Flying Spur has one key
distinction: BMW and Mer-
cedes cars are rear-wheel
driven, while the Bentley
models provide power to
all four wheels.
“Everyone builds mag-
nificent cars these days,
and it really comes down to
personal preference,” Bell
says. “I would go for all-
wheel drive because it’s the
most stable.”
A price of $150,000–
$180,000 for the Flying
Spur and GT opens up a
market of tens of thou-
sands worldwide, Hallmark
says. Until now, that price
spot has mainly been held
by two-door sports cars.
Porsche AG has its 911 mod-
els. Ford Motor Co. has the
Aston Martin DB7 and now
DB9. Ferrari SpA’s 360 is
being replaced this year by
the F430. Mercedes-Benz
makes the CL65 AMG and
Bloomberg Markets
154 November 2005
SL65 AMG cars. The Bent-
ley Continental GT was in-
troduced in 2003.
Now the Flying Spur and
Mercedes’s S65 four-door
sedan are set to expand that
market. “The four-door ver-
sion will be longer lived
than the GT,” says Graham
Norman, sales manager for
Bentley and Rolls-Royce at
Braman Motors in Miami.
“A lot of people looked at
the GT and liked it but
wanted a four door and a
bit more space.”
Buyer Michael Fux felt
that way. Chief executive
officer of West Long
Branch, New Jersey–based
Sleep Innovations Inc., he
already owns a gray-green
Continental GT, Rolls-
Royce Phantom and a
DaimlerChrysler Maybach
57. He has a Flying Spur
on order. “I’d like to have
a four door that’s a little
smaller than the Rolls or
the Maybach,” Fux says.
While the Flying Spur
does an admirable job as a
luxury cruiser, comfort in
the back suffers on a fast,
twisting ride. When the
car is pushed hard through
bends, back-seat passengers
will need a strong stomach
and maybe a padded jacket
to protect their shoulders
from the seat-belt strap that
will be frequently engaged.
As long as you’re in the
front seats, the car feels agile
and lighter than its bulk sug-
gests and will fly around
corners and whip into the
straightaways. In the back,
think of it as a very well de-
signed limousine, and for
comfort’s sake, ask that it be
driven in a stately manner.„
ALAN KATZ covers transportation at
Bloomberg News in Paris.
akatz5@bloomberg.net
The 1957 Bentley Flying Spur, shown here in black, is much sought
after by collectors in both the U.S. and Europe.
“Coupes are very fash-
ionable right now, but they
tend to come and go,” says
Adrian Hallmark, head of
North American operations
at VW. “Sedans are more
stable and a bit-bigger mar-
ket. The biggest sedan mar-
kets in the world are the
U.S., Germany and Japan,
in that order, and we need
to service those customers.”
When I got out of the
back seat and took the
I had to downshift manually,
using the steering wheel–
mounted paddles, since the
transmission software is
tuned for cruising. Indeed,
during highway driving, the
car was in fourth gear out of
six at 35 mph, in fifth gear
at 50 mph and in sixth at 65
mph. Floor it at that speed
in the automatic setting,
and, rather than downshift-
ing, the motor uses its huge
pulling power to thrust the
PERSONAL BUSINESS Road Test