Ralf Bernert was on the road with the fresh Bentley Flying Spur. In Beijing and on the Great Wall.
Back from Beijing - the smog from the suit blew, the gas foot has enjoyed the rest and the Chinese are back under themselves. For now at least.
The view from the 18. Floor of the Pangu 7 Stars Hotel next to the Olympic Stadium is not very enjoyable. Beijing, the capital of the land of smiles, has put a curtain in front of the sun. We remember: Smog - a mixture of dust, sulfur dioxide, soot and fog - had provided driving bans in Germany in the middle of the 80s. Nothing drove more and the drivers had to run. It's different in Beijing. One thinks about measures and keeps turning the ignition key.
The 9. May 2013. The sun is shining but you can not see it. Beijing is in a bad mood and people in the streets are either hiding behind dark films in their cars or wearing a surgical mask as a pedestrian. I'm sitting in the back of the new Bentley Flying Spur and let Roland Löwisch behind the wheel. Should he chauffeur the 625 PS until the first stop outside of Beijing. In the meantime, I will check to see if the information about the new luxury sedan from Crewe, voiced at yesterday's presentation, is also correct.
Ken Scott, head of the Flying Spur project, promised that the sedan would be considerably quieter than its predecessor. The ears pricked and listened. Full confirmation. Thanks to a new exhaust system, better insulation boards on the subfloor and double window seals, outside noise is barely guided inwards. The tires also run as softly as if you had velvet shoes put on them.
At the rear center console is a flatterer with multiple talents. The controler controls the climate, the seat heating, the navigation system while still displaying the tempo and the outside temperature. If the chauffeur is traveling too fast again, a short interjection is enough forward or you activate the seat heating, which warms and provides relaxation in the gas foot.
Kevin Rose, Sales Director at Bentley, introduces a few numbers: Since 2005, almost 20.000 Flying Spur has been sold. Worldwide, 173 distributors generated nearly 1,5 billion in 2012 sales. This year, more 40 dealers are to be added. In the growth market of China, more than half of all Continental Flying Spur were sold last year. The growth market of China is also interesting, because you will find especially many young wealthy, who are interested in luxury automobiles.
The Flying Spur will be delivered with 625 PS and 800 Newtonmeter torque. That reaches for 322 speed and catapults the sports sedan in 4,6 seconds to Tempo 100. This Bentley is the fastest of its kind. Who wants to overtake him on the highway, has to get a very flat two-seater from the garage. He is the fastest among the sedans. A detailed consideration of the driving characteristics could not be accomplished in China. Speed limits are here taken very seriously, the penalties are tough and the general bustle on the highway is suitable at most as a test for the steering and the brakes. Constantly watching the eye for sudden, extremely slow-moving trucks whose technical condition may be considered more than just worrying. These obstacles chug with tempo 20 from one track to the next. Exactly then the steering, the chassis and the brakes. All right, blood pressure on normal, on country roads, the Brit can show here and there how he deals with curves - whether open or closed.
The mass of 2,5 tons can not be shaken so easily, the landscape out there is pulled like a string over, short steps on the accelerator let the sports sedan leap forward. All this is not spectacular, but one can guess what was constructed in Crewe. A four-door with plenty of strength and athletic talents, plus equipment on the level of a modern Grand Hotel.
Bingo, now only beautiful curves and a few long straights without limit and photographers in the bushes are missing.