Bentley founder’s passion continues in Flying Spur S Hybrid

When Bentley was created, its founder Walter Bentley, who preferred to be called W.O. wanted ownership to be more of an invitation-only club, one where the purchase of one of his cars was the membership fee. It’s always been an exclusive club, even with the British luxury marque passing global retail sales of over 15,000 cars for the first time in 2022.

For decades a Bentley was mostly about luxury sedans, but today its top-selling model is the Bentayga, so much so that the company decided to kill off its flagship limo, the Mulsanne and replace it with an extended wheelbase version of the SUV. Fortunately it’s still producing great coupés like the Continental GT, exquisite bespoke models through its Mulliner division and the luxurious Flying Spur sedan.

It’s also keeping up with the times and has embarked on the road to electrification. While we got a look at the new Rolls-Royce Spectre last year, we will have to wait until 2024 to see the first pure electric Bentley, but in the meantime it is going with hybrid models including the Flying Spur S plug-in hybrid which we’ve just driven in the UK.

Priced from R5.06m, it looks stately and sporting in equal measure with its long wheelbase, wide profile, low roofline and deep green Veridian paintwork. The Blackline specification gives it an imposing attitude as do the 22-inch sports wheels with their Satin Brodgar finish. Inside is a duotone cabin in Beluga and Linen leather, with trim in Dark Fiddleback Eucalyptus over Grand Piano Black veneer finished with a linen contrast stitching. Yes we got all that off the specification sheet because it just sounds so very posh. We can go further too because it has a Cote de Geneve finish on the centre console, the fabulous Bentley rotating display and Naim for Bentley premium audio. It’s quite the membership card.

Its power train combines a 300kW, 2.9-litre V6 petrol engine with a 100kW electric motor, providing a total output of 400kW and 750Nm of torque. Headline figures include a 0-100km/h time of 4.3 seconds and a top speed of 285km/h. Being a plug-in hybrid provides the opportunity to fulfil W.O. Bentley’s dream of a silent car by gliding through town in pure electric mode for up to 40km.

There’s the option to place a hold on the e-motor to preserve that electric driving for when you want to use it. That’s useful because we ran out of electric range in no time at all and strangely there’s no regeneration to boost the charge back up as you drive. That means you have to plug it in where the 18kWh usable battery will take around six hours to recharge, or around 2.5 hours if you have access to a rapid charger.

It’s very much a stepping stone to going electric, but for cities around the world which are implementing low emission zones, 40km of electric driving is more than enough in most situations. Then there’s the V6 and the combination means that even after you’ve done your 40km of electric driving, it will keep going for up to another 800km courtesy of its 80-litre fuel tank.

That’s all well and good but the Flying Spur S is much more than just its numbers or its slightly environmental credentials, it’s about the experience. Climb inside and the interior is typically opulent with a hint of sportiness and modernity. There’s loads of handmade knurled metal, wood, plush leather and hand stitching. The rotating Bentley infotainment system is amazing with its choice of uninterrupted veneer, three dials or the infotainment screen. Here the usual Volkswagen Group issues crept in though with the system failing to initialise on a couple of occasions, not something you want in a R5m luxury automobile.

Rear-wheel steering enhances that cornering ability too, though we suspect it was the reason for a slight jitteriness on the highway, as though the body was rocking on ball joints rather than precisely tuned suspension components. We experienced similar with the latest Bentley Continental GT too.

We’ll have a word about that, but it gave us an excuse to spend more time on regular roads, making the most of the performance and dynamic character that has been so superbly integrated into the car. It’s a wonderful combination of luxury limo and sporting sedan, a car that embodies the passion and vision of W.O. Bentley while also adding that extra element of the modern desire to be a little kinder to our planet. The Bentayga might be dominating the brand’s sales, but the Flying Spur S is the Bentley that is truly flying the flag for its founder.