The new 542bhp V8 Flying Spur is a drivers’ Bentley

This is a brand new four-door, V8 super-luxury saloon, and that in itself is enough of a Good News story in these troubled times. That it’s a twin-turbo Bentley super-saloon – the new V8 Flying Spur – packing 542bhp and the promise of a more ‘driver-centric’ experience, has made our day. Time to sack your chauffeur. 

As sure as ‘that’s not gone well’ follows enthusiastic ‘watch this!’ moments, so too do V8 variants follow W12s, at least in Bentley’s world. The storied British carmaker has done lots of research, revealing Flying Spur customers enjoy driving themselves. Solution? Add Big V8 And Lightness.

It’s the familiar 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 used in the Conti GT, here developing 542bhp and 568lb ft of torque (vs the W12’s 626bhp and 664lb ft). It’ll sprint from 0-62mph in 4.1s and max out at 198mph, both a fraction less than the W12 but neither of which can be considered anything resembling ‘slow’.

The V8 gets cylinder deactivation, a clever way of storing boost on light throttle so it can charge ahead like a freight train on full whack, and will no doubt sound rather fruity. All good things.

Bentley has carved out 100kg vs the W12 Flying Spur, and we are assured it is yet more wieldy and agile than that bigger-engined car. There’s better weight distribution, adaptive dampers, torque vectoring, lightweight hollow anti-roll bars and the option of the 48-volt active anti-roll system (that makes the W12 Flying Spur so very handy) and all-wheel-steering.

V8 customers get the option of seven standard paint colours to choose from (there are more, don’t fret), standard-fit 20in alloys, quad exhaust pipes and a simply exceptional interior. Prices haven’t yet been confirmed, but consider the W12 starts at a whisker under £169k and you get the idea.

Looks great, too.

Read Top Gear's Bentley Flying Spur W12 review here