What's the difference?
In any other super car, it would seem deeply strange, wrong even, to loll (and LOL) in the back seats while a colleague blasts you around a race track at insane speeds, and not just because cars with V12 engines making 575kW and 1000Nm don’t normally have more than two seats.
The Bentley Flying Spur Speed is, of course, no ordinary car, it is a super sedan, a luxe limousine crossed with a rocket ship, and if Sir wants to get to the rooftop helipad in a spectacular hurry, then these are the back seats to be sitting in.
We flew to Japan, and the spectacular setting of the Magarigawa Club, a members-only race track carved out of the rolling hills outside Tokyo at a rumoured cost of $US2 billion, to try the back seats, and the driver’s seat, of the new and very impressive Flying Spur Speed.
In a world where car upgrades often feel like saying, “Can I upsize that?”, it’s refreshing to hop into the updated Audi S3 Sportback.
The flagship RS 3 may still be the holy grail of hot hatch dreams, but with boosted engine outputs and upgraded tech, the S3 is stepping up.
Is the S3 Sportback the smarter pick over pricier rivals? It delivers serious performance and polish without stretching into RS 3 territory. With fierce competition in the segment, let’s see what this contender brings to the table.
The Bentley Flying Spur Speed is a whole lot of car, for a whole lot of money. Sure, I’d rather have a Ferrari or a Porsche with similar power (and the Panamera shares the same V8 and hybrid set up), but then if you’re in the market for a Bentley like this you already have a garage full of other options. And I can see why you’d add one of these to your collection. Because you can.
Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.
The updated Audi S3 Sportback is a fun-sized dynamo with impressive outputs and athletic road manners. It’s missing a few premium features, but its compact size paired with a gutsy engine makes it a compelling option for drivers who don’t want to compromise on performance (just space).