Bentley Flying Spur Speed sends off the W12

It’s a blaze of glory mind, with the Spur Speed’s 207mph top speed making it one of the fastest four-door cars in the world. It’ll also get from 0-62mph in under four seconds on the way to that monster Vmax. Slowing it down are the largest steel brakes currently fitted to a production car, with 420mm front disks, that it shares with the Conti GT.

Handling all that performance is Bentley’s dynamic ride suspension system with 48-volt anti-roll, its all-wheel steering and torque vectoring by braking system. What it doesn’t get from the Continental GT Speed, sadly, is that clever electronic limited-slip differential.

Of course, being a Spur, it’s first and foremost a luxury car, so luxury chronograph-influenced graphics feature on the driver’s display. There are also standard 24-way adjustable seats in the front and 14-way adjustable seats in the back, both with heating, ventilation and memory functions. There’s a new material too, called Dinamica, which uses 73 per cent recycled polyester in its construction.

Obviously, there are a number of external visual cues to denote it’s a Speed. The Styling Specification brings a load of carbon fibre trimmings including a new splitter, side skirts, diffuser and boot spoiler. The Blackline specification also darkens all the brightwork and chrome on the outside.

None of this will come cheap, though. Being the flagship Spur, you can expect to be shelling out over £230,000 for the privilege of ownership. It’s not any Spur though, or even any Speed. It’s one of the last W12s and that makes it just that bit more special.