2025 Bentley Flying Spur | PH Review

Next year we’ll be introduced to the first fully electric Bentley. Engineering boss Matthias Rabe promises us it’ll be the firm’s best car yet, and it appears the wider R&D team is having a jolly good time developing it. But inevitably its silhouette will be that of an SUV and its power output will likely tally with the upper echelons of the Porsche Taycan range, ensuring that anyone seeking a truly traditional Bentley might need to look on the other side of the showroom.

Usefully, that’s where they’ll find this, the latest iteration of Flying Spur. We’ve already sampled it with the top-whack Speed powertrain which curiously launched several months before this base spec Spur. Of course, ‘base spec’ in the world of Bentley doesn’t insinuate a row of blanked-off buttons, steel wheels or manually adjusted mirrors. This is still lavishly trimmed on top and an almighty plug-in hybrid beneath, the Speed’s ‘Ultra Performance Hybrid’ powertrain making way for the 100hp-lighter ‘High Performance Hybrid’ setup, its combined 680hp and 686lb ft yielding a 0-62mph time of 3.9 seconds. Not entry-level by any rational standard.

Beyond its detuned V8, there’s a mild detuning of its dynamism. The rearward bias of its 4WD is reduced (though still quoted as 85 per cent) and there’s no ESC Dynamic mode, reducing your choice of electronic assistance for deploying its mighty output to all or nothing. The hardware between the base and Speed Spurs (and Conti GTs) is common; in fact, their key differences involve calibration. Where the pricier Speed gets the full gamut of chassis, torque vectoring and four-wheel-steering adjustability as you toggle through its modes, here a notch between Comfort, Sport and Bentley on the delightfully knurled mode dial focuses its influence on the throttle, suspension and anti-roll control.

The drive mode dial is an alluringly tactile flourish amidst a still broadly analogue interior, its digital instruments (and their sumptuous resolution) aside. Top marks for the big, chunky gear selector too. This remains a more bespoke and enveloping cabin than a Bentayga’s and one that evidently shares less with its wider VW group brethren. The novelty of its rotating screen remains fresh even seven years after its first appearance on the Conti GT, the digital detox it brings feeling more welcome than ever. Though Bentley touts the Bentayga EWB as its halo limousine nowadays, I’m sure most of us would probably rather slink around in the back of one of these…

Slinking around is something it does very adeptly. Hybrid power ought to suit a luxe limo like little else, and this one proves the theory better than the V6 version that went before it. The default Bentley mode favours a smooth, silent pull away in electric mode, and the 190hp and 332lb ft of the e-motor ensures brisk progress even with 2.6 tons to haul around. A fully muted powertrain does expose the busy pitter-patter of its bulky 22-inch wheels a tad, which occasionally thump around on rougher roads, but it’s the sound that disturbs you more than any major ride quality qualms. This is still a splendid thing to saunter around in. I drove the BMW i7 a few years ago and found it a pretty unbeatable limo, but when the engine of this Spur does kick in, my memory of the big Beener dims. This is a proper engine and one that you’ll welcome the input of, not least for the monumental, laugh-out-loud pace it brings. Lord knows why you’d need another 100hp in the Speed…

The steering feel is superior to any of its rivals and betrays just how much the front axle is clinging on, giving you the confidence to start playing with a more involving rear end than you might expect – or even give a damn about. This is a supremely balanced car in all of its modes, but in the interests of science, it’d be foolish to resist a few corners in Sport with the ESC extinguished, my curiosity piqued by numerous flashes of its icon under even subtle power application. 

While I’ll always prefer a mid-way Sport mode for road driving – and it feels remiss for this base car to lose it – it’s also an absolute doozy to drive without the helpers. It only surrenders grip with provocation; when it does, its vast, instantly accessible electrified torque makes it more amiable and adjustable than any Spur I’ve driven before. An armful of oversteer is easily there for the taking if you wish to indulge, and it’s gratifying rather than gratuitous. 

Alright, perhaps it’s both. Yet it betrays a balanced chassis that appears to link seamlessly with the ingenuity of its powertrain. That this is a hybrid for more than hybrids’ sake. While evolving legislation has no doubt nudged electrified Bentleys onto the price lists, it’s clear the engineers at Crewe also see plug-in power as a sandbox to play in.

Quite how the market would react to a non-hybrid model – using the same raucously piped V8 as the new Bentayga Speed – is something we may yet find out. Conti GTs are likely to get an ICE-only option, so perhaps the Spur might too. Maybe it’s not necessary. The car we have here feels as close to a traditional Bentley as you could hope to get, its whisper-quiet manners at pottering speeds and insatiable sense of humour with more commitment helping it resemble a contemporary update of an age-old recipe. If the new EV really is a Bentley all-time great, it’s going to be fabulous.

Engine: 3,996cc twin-turbocharged V8, electric motor, 25.9kWh battery
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch, all-wheel drive 
Power (hp): 680 combined (engine alone 519@6,250rpm)
Torque (lb ft): 686 combined (568@2,300-4,500rpm)
0-62mph: 3.9sec
Weight: 2,646kg
MPG: 64.2
CO2: 100g/km
Electric range: 50 miles (514 miles overall)
Price: from £190,200