2008 Bentley Continental Flying Spur Mulliner Package on 2040-cars

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2014 Bentley Flying Spur makes its Swiss debut

Ever since the two-door Bentley Continental GT debuted in 2010, we've wondered how the coupe's new design and technology would carry over to the four-door Flying Spur model. We received official details and images a couple of weeks ago, but we've now had the chance to see the Spur in person here on the eve of the 2013 Geneva Motor Show.
It's a handsome sedan, this 2014 Flying Spur (which has officially ditched the Continental nomenclature, for what it's worth). And even more handsome in the metal. The stock photos don't do this big beast justice - especially in the rear three-quarter and profile views, where aspects of the car (namely its newly horizontal-shaped taillamps) can look a bit awkward.
More impressively, Bentley says that the new Flying Spur will be the "fastest, most powerful four-door" it has ever produced. Makes sense to us, especially considering the fact that the sedan borrows its twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter W12 powertrain from the Continental GT Speed coupe. This twelve-pot mill is good for 616 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, able to propel the 5,451-pound, all-wheel-drive sedan to 60 miles per hour in 4.3 seconds. That's quick.

Bentley to debut Flying Spur S at Goodwood Festival of Speed

The Bentley Flying Spur isn’t short on power or performance, but itÂ’s not the most focused driverÂ’s car at its price point. Bentley hopes to change that with a new S variant of the car, which will follow the lead set by the Continental GT S as a sharper, more exciting version of the posh four-door. Bentley offers two powertrains in the Flying Spur S, including a surprisingly capable hybrid. The V8-powered car gets a 4.0-liter mill that makes around 542 horsepower and 568 pound-feet of torque. With the engine on board, the 5,000-plus-pound Flying Spur S takes just 4 seconds to run from 0-62 mph, and the car can go on to a top speed of 198 mph. The hybrid powertrain features a 2.9-liter V6 engine paired with an electric motor that makes a combined 536 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque. The system can deliver an all-electric range of 26 miles, and the car still sees scorching acceleration just a tenth of a second behind its V8-powered counterpart. Keeping the Flying SpurÂ’s weight in check is BentleyÂ’s Dynamic Ride suspension system, which can apply up to 1300 Newton-meters of anti-roll torque to aid in cornering. All-wheel steering is also standard and can turn the rear wheels opposite the fronts by up to 4.2 degrees, giving the almost 17.5-foot long Flying Spur a much tighter turning radius than it would have otherwise. Looking at the Flying Spur, itÂ’s hard to see anything other than a stately Bentley, but the automaker gave the S a few styling touches to designate it as “the fast one.” Gloss black replaces polished metal and provides accents for the exhaust, grille, and wheels. The car comes with 21- or 22-inch wheels, red brakes, and exclusive “S” badges.  The Flying Spur SÂ’ cabin is every bit as plush as weÂ’d expect at a Bentley price point. A two-tone color scheme comes standard, with leather and synthetic suede upholstery called Dinamica. The material also covers the steering wheel and gear shift lever. Bentley embroiders the seats with an S logo and offers its logo as a no-cost embroidery option. Bentley will debut the Flying Spur S at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, which takes place later this month in England. The festival features a popular hill climb event that has featured everything from VolkswagenÂ’s electric ID.R race car to boutique supercars from little-known constructors. Bentley intends to field several vehicles in the event, including the new Flying Spur S and versions of the Continental GT S and GTC S cars.

Top horsepower-per-dollar cars in 2017

Bang for the buck. That quasi-scientific statistic is bandied about by motor heads everywhere from classrooms to barrooms, though the truth of the matter is that it's exceedingly complex to measure. A fair performance-per-dollar index would include something like cross-referencing MSRP (Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price) with point-to-point times on a track or driving route, which is obviously hard to do comprehensively. But, for the sheer joy of talking about cars and playing with a big spreadsheet, there's always the horsepower-per-dollar index, which is more straightforward, albeit hilariously flawed. There are vagaries even with this simple formula, of course: MSRP for vehicles can change at a moment's notice, to say nothing of the bottom-line shifting that happens with local deals or showroom negotiation. For this list we're running with the straight MSRP wherever possible, and as recently reported as we can get it. All the vehicles on this list are 2017 models, and all trims are reported where the lowest price and differing power levels intersect. Some choices were made for personal preference and some for sanity, avoiding things like all 48 trim levels of the Ford Transit, all with the same horsepower). If this list were a simple top ten, or even a top fifty, you'd be bored to tears with all the red, white and blue that is represented. Following perfectly with conventional wisdom, American cars really do lead the world where hp/$ is concerned. So, for the sake of variety (and the sheer joy of seeing a minivan 'win' one round of this thing) I've sorted out some top five and bottom five lists for broad power categories. Let's dive in. Less Than 100 Horsepower Okay, okay, this is hardly a category we'll grant you. But we've often tried to click off all the sub-100-hp cars on sale in the US, and making this list gave us an excuse. It also illustrates that none of these smallish vehicles bring cheap horsepower to the table - for that you'll need a motorcycle. The segment-leading Chevy Spark (above) asks just over $139 for each hp, and that Smart Fortwo Electric Drive has hp on sale for about the same price as its very distant family cousin, the Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG (insert your favorite Smart joke here... we know you want to).