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2021 Bentley Flying Spur V8 First Drive Review | Making a scene at the ends of the Earth

Even in the face of fading four-door relevance, a new luxury sedan still turns heads, and that goes double when it’s sporting the Flying B. The 2021 Bentley Flying Spur V8 marks the return of the “entry-level” variant of BentleyÂ’s storied touring sedan, and perhaps for the last time, as parent company Volkswagen appears poised to electrify its flagship luxury brand. As luxury nameplates go, Flying Spur really isnÂ’t all that long-running. It was used on a handful of cars in the late 1950s and early 1960s and then mothballed for four decades, returning in 2005 as part of the same Volkswagen prestige project that brought us the Phaeton. The two were even assembled side-by-side for a brief period at one of VWÂ’s German facilities while BentleyÂ’s factory in Crewe scaled up; that probably went over far better in 2005 than it would have in 1959.  My oldest remaining memory of the (then still a Continental) Flying SpurÂ’s modern incarnation stems from a write-up by a journalist who had embedded with some of VW GroupÂ’s engineers in South Africa. They were subjecting it to hot-weather validation, running the prototype (disguised as a Mercedes-Benz) deep into triple-digit territory on remote, dusty highways in a once-unforgiving and distant corner of the globe. The whole thing seemed very romantic to a 20-year-old college student and budding European car nut. The notion of a 190-mph super-sedan being tested in a locale that was once the southern terminus of the known world seemed almost mythical, and it left me with the lingering image of the Flying Spur as the sort of conveyance one might employ in a quest to reach the very ends of the Earth. Naturally, it wasnÂ’t long after Bentley asked if I wanted to sample the new Flying Spur V8 that this association bubbled up. LetÂ’s face it, though; taking a road trip in a grand British luxury sedan needs no justification. This isnÂ’t a car that requires an occasion; it supplies one all on its own. The 4.0-liter V8Â’s 542 horsepower may not hold a candle to the W12Â’s 626, but it also has to contend with 200 fewer pounds. Combined with cylinder deactivation, the V8 manages a 16% improvement in fuel economy, eking out 15 mpg in the city, 20 on the highway and 17 combined. The base V8 model also lacks the W12Â’s standard all-wheel steering and electronically controlled anti-roll bars, but those are still available if youÂ’re willing to cough up some extra cash, and relatively little of it, all things considered.

Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R named Road & Track Performance Car of the Year

With a 526-horsepower, 5.2-liter V8 that roars to 8,250 rpm, it's really hard to consider the 2016 Ford Shelby Mustang GT350R an underdog in any fight. However, the Shelby held the lowest as-tested price and was only middle of the pack in terms of power in Road & Track's 2016 Performance Car of the Year challenge. The 'Stang's numbers clearly didn't tell the whole story about the potent coupe because Ford's muscle car grabbed the title in this year's test. A model needs to be new or significantly updated to be eligible for the honor, and R&T found an impressive slate of eight candidates this year. The challengers included the Bentley Continental GT3-R, Cadillac ATS-V Coupe, Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Dodge Viper ACR, Mercedes-AMG GT S, and Porsche Cayman GT4. The Ferrari 488 GTB was the most expensive of the bunch with an as-tested price of $347,942, which is five times more than the Shelby. Once the group was together, R&T hustled them over curving roads and on the National Corvette Museum Motorsports Park. There was a lot to love about the Shelby, even in this impressive crew. "With a flat-plane crank and Sport Cup 2 tires, the GT350R is a Mustang turned up to 11," editor-in-chief Larry Webster said in the announcement of the results. The GT350R joins some great company. Past winners include the Porsche 911 GT3 last year and the Corvette in 2013. For some fantastic photography and the complete appraisal of these performance machines check out R&T's website for the full story. Related Video: ROAD & TRACK NAMES THE FORD MUSTANG SHELBY GT350R THE 2016 PERFORMANCE CAR OF THE YEAR New York, NY (November 9, 2015) – Road & Track today named the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R the 2016 Performance Car of the Year, beating out seven of the world's best new sports cars. The article appears in the December/January issue, on newsstands November 17, and on RoadandTrack.com. "With a flat-plane crank and Sport Cup 2 tires, the GT350R is a Mustang turned up to 11," said Larry Webster, editor-in-chief of Road & Track. "Not only does the car have soul and harness so much firepower with such ease, but the real achievement here is that it's so approachable. It's a car you can't help but love." The Mustang Shelby GT350R was the winner by a runaway vote.

A diesel V8 is the perfect engine for the Bentley Bentayga

Endless, effortless torque is something that's so often taken for granted. Sure, horsepower figures make all the headlines, but the sensation that comes with immediate and readily available thrust is something that can't be overstated, especially in luxury vehicles. High-strung, high-horsepower engines are great in certain applications, but Bentley owners don't want to work for the power, they just expect it to be there. That's why the 4.0-liter diesel V8 from the Audi SQ7 and its 664 lb-ft of torque make perfect sense for the new Bentley Bentayga. We've known for a while that Bentley is planning a diesel variant of the Bentayga, but it wasn't clear from where the engine was being sourced. According to Telegraaf in Holland, Bentley is pulling the diesel from the heart of its sibling Audi, and it won't be an effort to improve fuel efficiency. The all engine features two exhaust-driven turbos plus a 48-volt compressor that effectively cuts lag to nothing and propels the SQ7 TDI to 62 mph in 4.8 seconds. Expect a similar number in the Bentley. This engine is exactly what the Bentayga needs. There is nothing wrong with the W12 in the standard model, and you could argue a 12-cylinder engine is a better fit in a Bentley. But that's just because W12 sounds better than diesel. While the gasoline engine may more powerful and therefore make the vehicle quicker (leading to that " fastest SUV" claim Bentley loves), no owner will actually be racing their Bentayga to its theoretical top speed of 187 mph. They will be racing away from stoplights, though, in an effort to leave more plebeian cars and SUVs behind. All that low-end grunt is what those owners really want. It's unclear if Bentley will bring the Bentayga diesel to the United States, and given the current state of diesel here, the proposition seems unlikely. Expect an official debut at the Paris motor show in October. Related Video: News Source: Telegraaf Rumormill Bentley SUV Diesel Vehicles Luxury bentley bentayga audi sq7