Hiring a chauffeur used to be customary for owners of Bentley limousines, but the maker says it is now catering for a younger clientele by fitting a twin-turbocharged V8 engine into the grand tourer to make it more of a driver's car.
"Research from the last 10 years shows a significant shift in the usage of the Flying Spur from chauffeur-driven owners," said Bentley.
"The Flying Spur V8 offers a more driver-centric experience via increased agility and a more characterful engine note, whilst benefiting from increased range between fuel stops and a reduction in CO2 emissions."
The Flying Spur V8 is 100kg lighter than the standard version which has a silky-smooth and silent V12 motor, "making the vehicle feel more agile and responsive with a distinctive personality of its own," said Engineering Board member, Dr Matthias Rabe.
The V8 Flying Spur is exciting to drive with 542 horsepower on tap and a top speed of 318kph. Acceleration from a standing start to 100kph is accomplished in 4.1 seconds.
Performance like this comes at the expense of fuel frugality but the V8 Flying Spur can save petrol by shutting down four of its eight cylinders under light-load conditions, when the engine speed is below 3,000 rpm.
The company said the change is imperceptible to the occupants – with deactivation times of around 20 milliseconds. That is around a tenth of the time it takes to blink.
What idle chauffeurs will make of the new V8 Flying Spur is hard to say although they will still be required to polish the coachwork, open the doors for clients and generally be on hand in case the owner is not in a self-driving mood.
