CLUBHOUSE | DRIVING RANGE
Global Appeal
China might be the biggest market for Bentley’s Flying Spur, but the latest incarnation of this famous marque appears destined to attract well-heeled buyers worldwide, writes Ben Oliver.
SCORECARD How much?
Price on application
Engine:
6.0-litre W12 engine twin turbochargers
625PS power
Transmission:
Eight-speed automatic, 4WD
Performance:
0-100kph in 4.6secs, 320kph
How heavy? 2,475kg
I
n 2009 China overtook the United States to become the world’s largest door saloon introduced in 2005. Of course it is car market. This year, sales are expected to top an astonishing 18 million. titanically fast, its 6.0-litre W12 motor surging Management consultants McKinsey & Co recently estimated that by 2020 forward with the irresistibility that ought to China will become the world’s largest market for luxury cars too, buying more characterise a Bentley. But around town its twin than the US, or all of Western Europe put together. The demand from Chinese turbochargers barely wake, and the drivetrain is so refined in noise and vibration customers that is revolutionizing the world of the luxury that more than once I tried to start car is an almost exclusively urban phenomenon, and Beijing Bentley is a little it was already running. is China’s biggest single market. So where better to have my ahead of the game in it when The steering is deft, precise and first experience of the new Bentley Flying Spur than here? China. The marque light in low-speed traffic. On the Bentley, and the Flying Spur, are a little ahead of the game move, the acoustic glazing and here. The marque established its first dealerships in China established its first the redesigned exhaust system over a decade ago and China is already Flying Spur’s biggest dealerships here make for a noticeably quieter car, market, with more than half of sales of the outgoing model over a decade ago particularly in the rear, and the happening here. China ranks just behind the United States for sales across the whole Bentley range and the Beijing and China is already softer suspension settings give the Flying Spur real glide when you dealership is the brand’s biggest, delivering more than a car a the Flying Spur’s meet a Beijing pothole. The new day to China’s new elite. biggest market. TSR touch-screen remote control They want a car that rides well, is quiet and refined inside, for the audio and air conditioning is and that caters to those who prefer to be driven, around 90 per cent of Bentley’s Chinese customers retaining a driver. And that’s exactly what perfect for back-seat drivers. And of course, it has I’d noticed in this new Flying Spur, which replaces the first generation of this four- the extraordinary levels of hand-craftsmanship
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HK Golfer・JUL 2013
HKGOLFER.COM
and material quality that you expect from an elite British car of this price. But although this new model seems to have been designed just for China’s increasingly important buyers, it hasn’t; this remains a car of global appeal, intended as much for buyers in Birmingham, Bahrain and the Bay Area as Beijing. That softer ride reflects the Flying Spur’s move out of the more sporting Continental family to become a model in its own right, in turn reflected in the striking new front end with its full-width lower air intake and bigger outboard headlamps to distinguish it from the two-door Bentley. And the hushed cabin ambience will be appreciated by the occupants of front and back rows alike. There will be 38 Bentley dealerships in Greater China by the time you read this, yet there are still 111 tier two and three cities without a single premium car dealership. The scope for further growth is mindboggling. And with a car like this to offer, Bentley is well-placed to take advantage of it. HKGOLFER.COM
HK Golfer・JUL 2013
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