Launched in 2005, the Bentley Continental Flying Spur cost £133,200. Today, you can have this sibling saloon to the GT coupé on your drive for just £17,500.
That’s what one private seller is asking for their 2005/55-reg Spur. It has done a healthy 97,000 miles, as distinct from an unhealthy 30,000 miles or so shuffling around London. For the past seven years, it has been maintained by a Bentley specialist and the seller has every invoice detailing work done. Recent jobs have included new front upper suspension arms and air struts.
With potentially ruinously expensive cars such as an old Spur, the trick to buying a good one is that it has not only full main or specialist service history but also evidence of obsessively careful stewardship. On that point, it’s reassuring to see that the seller of this Spur has gone to the trouble of renewing its two ignition keys, which, they say, were looking “tatty”. They also had the wheels refurbished and overmats replaced. Perhaps the most reassuring thing of all, though, is that the experience of owning an old Spur has been so positive that they’re looking to repeat it with a newer model…
It’s got to be worth a look if only to raise the bonnet and gaze upon its magnificent 553bhp 6.0-litre twin-turbo W12. It produces 479lb ft at just 1600rpm, a combination guaranteed to provide the smoothest, most unruffled progress. On the other hand, if you need to shake off the hoi polloi, it can spring to attention and hurl you from standstill to 62mph in 4.9sec on its way to 190mph.
Drive goes to all four wheels via a six-speed ZF automatic gearbox. The system favours the rear wheels, so with lightweight, multi-link suspension and self-levelling air springs providing poise and controllability, and huge 405mm disc brakes the stopping power, this 2.5-tonne leviathan can really cut some shapes.
