The fourth `Flying Spur` also adopts the plug-in hybrid system built around the `4.0-litre V8`, with up to `782 hp` in `Speed` form. Bentley pulls off something quite rare here: improving performance, low-end response and silent running at the same time, without diluting the model's deeply aristocratic identity. The `Flying Spur` remains a large sporting limousine, but it becomes even more immediate in the way it accelerates.
A Porsche Panamera remains more compact and more overtly sporty; the `Flying Spur IV` answers with refinement, space and a level of mechanical performance now almost outrageous for a saloon of this type. That still means close monitoring of early cars, because the hybrid system, the `DCT` and the active chassis all play an essential role in the final experience.