Interior
That sound insulation works for the Flying Spur’s benefit in just about every other scenario, though, as it offers one of the quietest cabins in the business. Despite costing nearly $200,000 less than the aforementioned Black Badge Ghost, you’d need a proper sound meter to notice any meaningful difference between the two. From the moment its heavy doors slam shut, the outside world might as well not exist.
Once inside, the Flying Spur greets you with, get this, physical buttons! Unlike the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and the latest BMW 7-Series, the opulent Bentley doesn’t force you to interact with screens for everything, although there are five. Despite housing nearly a million of them in its center console alone, it’s easy to map them all out mentally. It took less than a day to get comfortable with where all of its controls are, highlighting that digitizing everything shouldn’t be a go-to move.
Back to the five screens, the largest of which is the central rotating $6,620 12.3-inch display. The flipping screen is made up of 153 components. Its rotating mechanism alone comprises 40. It may seem like a lot of work for such a small detail, but it makes you feel like a gazillionaire when you hit the start button, and it does its dance. These kinds of details make even a boring commute an event.
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The following three displays live in the second row, two of which are optional 10.1-in entertainment screens, and the last is a detachable tablet remote. With it, you can control your seating position, entertainment, climate settings, and even the rigorousness of your massage. Regardless of where you’re seated inside the Flying Spur, you just feel special.
Sat behind the steering wheel and facing the final screen, a digital instrument cluster, it’s clear that this cabin’s ergonomics are spot on. This was a surprising contrast to the Continental GT Speed I tested last year, whose seat always seemed a few inches too high. On the other hand, the Flying Spur allows you to sit about as low as you’d ever want in its heated and cooled sports seats. Contrary to what their name might suggest, they’re outrageously comfortable and almost endlessly adjustable.
General opulence aside, my tester featured the $9,150 Naim audio system. It’s an epic 2,200-watt 21-speaker setup that might be the best I’ve ever tested. It’s specifically tuned for the Flying Spur and, coupled with the cabin’s quietness, delivers impressive sound. Sure, it costs nearly five figures, but it’s a must if you’re buying a $300,000 Bentley.