2021 Bentley Flying Spur V8 Starts Production, Packs 550 PS
16 Nov 2020, 20:51 UTC ·
by
Mircea Panait
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Formerly known as the Continental Flying Spur, the Flying Spur is the indirect replacement of the Mulsanne. Following the launch of the W12 version, the only sedan in Bentley’s range is now available with a V8 engine borrowed from Porsche.
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The 4.0-liter Flying Spur has recently started production in Crewe, and every single example of the four-door grand tourer needs “more than 100 hours” from start to finish. In terms of suck-squeeze-bang-blow, the entry-level V8 cranks out 550 PS (524 horsepower) and 770 Nm (568 pound-feet) of torque from as low as 2,000 rpm.
16 percent more efficient than the W12 engine, the eight-cylinder motor emits 288 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer. This means 441 miles or 709 kilometers with a full tank of dinosaur juice and a combined fuel economy of 22.2 mpg UK (make that 18.5 miles per gallon in the U.S.A. or 12.7 liters per 100 kilometers in Europe.)
“The new Flying Spur V8 is the newest addition to our family, built in our carbon-neutral factory in Crewe. This is our tenth model in production at the moment, and we’re really looking forward to getting the first cars to their lucky new owners,” said member of the board for manufacturing Peter Bosch. But still, what tenth model?
Last time I’ve visited the British automaker’s configurator, four model lines were listed. One of them is the Mulsanne, which has been discontinued in June 2020. The other three are the Flying Spur, Continental GT, and Bentayga, which clearly means that Peter is referring to all the body styles and engine options available as “models.”
100 kilograms (220 pounds) lighter than the W12, the V8-powered Flying Spur can shut down four cylinders when torque demand is below 235 Nm (173 pound-feet) and the engine’s speed is lower than 3,000 rpm. The change is said to be imperceptible to the occupants, and deactivation takes 20 milliseconds. According to the British company, 0.2 seconds translates to “a tenth of the time it takes to blink.”
The eight-cylinder engine isn’t the only Porsche-developed part of the Flying Spur, though. The Volkswagen Group MSB vehicle architecture has been developed specifically for the Panamera, and the Continental GT also rides on this platform. Another piece of hardware that needs to be mentioned is Electronic All-Wheel Steering, a.k.a. Rear-Axle Steering including Power Steering Plus in the Panamera.
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