Titanic Performer

Bentleys used to be fuddie-duddie cars, high-powered but low-revving cruisers Hollywood dentists and screenwriters bought to prove they had arrived. But with '03's sinewy, titanically successful Continental GT — and now the Silver Spur, the GT's 4-door variant — that stereotype no longer is valid.

These new-age Bentleys are cool, calculated and covetable in the businesslike fashion of many highline German cars, understandable in that German auto maker Volkswagen AG has owned Bentley since 1998. And like the Continental GT, the Flying Spur owes much to VW product development.

Whiners say the Bentleys owe too much to VW. Much of the Continental twins' driveline and chassis, in particular, is on view in the VW Phaeton and Audi A8. But the Flying Spur's twin-turbocharged 6L W12 is a towering engineering achievement.

Apart from its unique W-configured layout, there is enough raw power — 552 horses and 479 lb.-ft. (650 Nm) of torque — to move this 5,455-lb. (2,475 kg) car to 60 mph (97 km/h) in an improbable 4.9 seconds and on to 195 mph (314 km/h), a number Bentley says makes it the world's fastest 4-door car.

But the Spur isn't the old-style Bentley formula of big engine and no chassis. The full-time all-wheel-drive system and unfussed 6-speed automatic (yes, both straight from the VW/Audi parts bin) channel the W12's monumental thrust with aplomb, and there are big, boisterous brakes befitting that dynamo underhood: giant 15.9-in. (40-cm) discs up front.

The chassis features struts up front and a multi-link rear, and the wheelbase is stretched 12 ins. (30 cm) over the Continental GT, assuring the comfort a buyer would expect of a Bentley.

Meticulous chassis tuning delivers spectacular ride quality, yet cornering is almost alarmingly composed. The Spur certainly understeers and appreciates deliberate control inputs, but it is far from a pig in the corners.

Inside, Bentley delivers. There is an oiled smoothness to the controls not found in production-line cars, and the grip-enhancing knurling on the gearshift lever is as delicious as that on the grips of a fine handgun. There are verdant swaths of gorgeous veneer and 11 hides' worth of high-quality leather.

The 4-door Continental Flying spur is every bit as captivating as the Continental GT. It went on sale in September at a base price of $164,990. Just 1,800 will be sold in North America.

The Silver Spur's titanic performance and dominating presence make it the choice in this strange niche between “common” (less than $100,000) plutocrat-cars such as the Mercedes S-Class and BMW 7-Series and the questionable value and overt ostentation offered by rides such as Rolls-Royce and Maybach.

“Intelligent exclusivity,” thy name is Bentley.