2009 Bentley Continental Flying Spur

Since its introduction as a 2006 model, the Bentley Continental Flying Spur has delighted the well-heeled with immense performance, supreme refinement, and seemingly boundless customization. Naturally, for 2009, Bentley has done to the Flying Spur what any rational ultraluxury brand would do-given it more performance, more refinement, more customization, and, priced at $180,395, more bottom line.

Still spurring the all-wheel-drive 2009 Bentley Continental Flying Spur is a 6.0L twin-turbo W-12 good for 552 hp and 479 lb-ft. Bentley estimates 0 to 60 in 4.9 sec and a top speed of 195 mph. Want more speed? Then go for the new $204,795 Speed, whose dark-tinted front grilles, wider tail pipes, and split-spoke 20-in. alloys distinguish it from its gentler sibling.

Don't be surprised that other drivers and pedestrians rarely give you a second glance. The proportions of this big Bentley sedan give it a well-balanced look that makes it seem smaller than it actually is, especially in silver. There are virtually no markings (someone had to tell me it was a Flying Spur), just that classic "B" on the hood, the trunk, and on each of the four wheel centers. If you know Bentleys, you also see this one is special by its mesh-covered intake on the lower front fascia under the main radiator opening and the wide, elliptical dual exhausts poking out the rear.

The 2009 Speed edition of the Bentley Continental Flying Spur may look like a recycled Volkswagen Phaeton, but all of this supersedan's dynamic character traits take after the Lamborghini side of the family. To make a 2.7-ton object accelerate with Chevy Corvette vigor and trump a Porsche 911 Turbo's terminal velocity, ample power is required. The aptly named Speed is blessed with 600 horses, 48 more than the ordinary Flying Spur. Most of the added impetus came from reducing the pumping losses inside the densely packed W-12's crankcase.

Bentley says the Flying Spur Speed develops 15 percent more torque and nine percent more horsepower than the standard Flying Spur, allowing the luxo-sedan to accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds and reach a top speed of 200 mph.

Compared to the ordinary Flying Spur, the 2009 Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed also offers more lightweight components, a lowered ride height, an uprated and redesigned suspension and retuned steering. The Flying Spur Speed is distinguished by subtle design cues, including a dark-tinted radiator and air intake grilles, wider rifled exhaust tail pipes and unique 20-inch multi-spoke alloy wheels. For those bored with Bentley's usual cosmetic choices, three new Flying Spur exterior colors and four duo-tone paint combinations will be available, along with two new hide color options. Additionally, 2009 2009 Bentley Continental Flying Spurs can now be ordered with a radar-based adaptive cruise control system and an exclusive Naim for Bentley audio system.