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Motorsports fans who’d like to get a peek at the inner workings of Prodrive would be advised to get their fannies on a jumbo to England this July. That’s when the company’s motorsports HQ will be opened to the public for two days (7/14 – 7/15), giving fans a chance to learn how it creates and supports the five racing cars it handles on-site.
In addition to the learning element, fans will be entertained by the likes of Johnny Herbert and David Brabham, who will demonstrate the Aston Martin DBR9 while its crew performs pit stops on the car. Similarly, the Subaru World Rally Team will be servicing Petter Solberg’s WRC ride for the public. The Prodrive heritage center will show off older race cars, and displays from Aston Martin and Subaru will contain fun stuff like Bond’s Aston Martin DBS from Casino Royale, as well as Benedict Radcliffe’s wire-frame Impreza sculpture.
There’s more, too, as you’ll see in the press release after the jump. It’s all for charity, with the proceeds going to the Oxford Children’s Hospital. If you’re going to be in the UK in mid-July, it sounds like a good time is waiting to be had. Ticket info can be found here, and more information about Oxford Children’s Hospital can be found here.
[Source: Prodrive]
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When you’re willing to spend nearly a quarter-million dollars on a car, you probably don’t need a rational, reasoned car review to tell you whether that’s a good idea. The decision is one part emotion, two parts braggadocio.
We’re going to give it a shot anyway. We spent last week driving around the (surprisingly fun) back roads near Beijing, China, in thenew 2014 Bentley Flying Spur. Bentley brought us all the way to the Great Wall, hosting the first-ever international car launch in China to drive home the point that Chinese buyers will make up 55 percent of the Flying Spur’s sales. And they’ll pay a hefty premium – U.S. buyers will pay $200,500, but tariffs will increase the price for Chinese buyers to nearly a half-million dollars.
It seemed a bit gauche to be driving a half-million-dollar car in China, where the majority of its 1.3 billion population is living in poverty. But the country has a growing number of millionaires and billionaires, and is biding its time as the fourth-largest economy in the world until it takes over the No. 1 spot. There are plenty of newly minted rich people here looking to be driven around in a rolling status symbol.
Critics didn’t gush over the last Flying Spur, saying it wasn’t as refined as it could have been from a carmaker that builds each of its vehicles by hand. Has Bentley done a better job with this new version? Read on to find out.
Sticker price: $200,500Invoice price: NAEngine: 6-liter twin-turbocharged W12Transmission: 8-speed automaticPerformance: 616 horsepower, 590 pound-feet of torque, 0-60 in 4.3 secondsFuel economy: 12 mpg City, 20 mpg HighwaySeating: 4 peopleCargo: 16.8 cubic feet in trunk
If you stick some miniature flags to the four corners of this car, you could easily pass as a third-world dictator driving through town.
The Flying Spur is classically Bentley – a bit staid, but respectable. The lattice-work grill and sparkling headlights give the car a distinguished face. On the side, air vents are covered with a stylish “B” that looks like a rocket ship. Thick pillars between the windows give the car a heavy, strong look.
Bentley cars can be painted in whatever color you like; if you want the automaker to match your car to your favorite dress, they can do it. There are 88 standard colors available, joined now by a purple called Damson inspired by the color of rare purple diamonds, the company says.
I like how it looks. It’s a proper grown up car — one you could drive to charity galas and feel like you’ve made it.
This is where things get ultra luxurious. I’ve always been struck by how really wealthy people favor colors like white and beige, as if these people never get muddy or spill Diet Coke while they’re driving. The Flying Spur we tested favored these light hues – seats in quilted off-white leather and plush cream carpeting are suitable for folks who don’t have to carpool kids snacking on Cheez-Its in plastic baggies. That said, you can get it with darker interior colors if that’s your thing.
It’s lavish. People who own this car have nannies who dole out organic Cheez-Its and deal with that mess. The fine wood paneling and cold-to-the-touch gear selector and rotary dial add to the cocoon feeling inside the car. In the Mulliner edition, which is the $250,000 version of the car, there’s a removable sunglasses case that matches the wood in the car. It’s nicer than almost anything I own.
Let’s face it, this car was designed for people who want to be chauffeured. So there’s ample legroom in the back. There’s also a tray that flips down, like in an airplane, in case you want to do work. And there’s a mirror, for those vanity moments. The rear seats are heated and there’s optional seat massagers in the back.
There’s a sturdy arm rest in between the back seats, so the car only seats four.
The trunk is big enough to carry golf clubs and a steamer trunk or two (isn’t that how rich people travel? Or have they moved on to matching sets of Louis Vitton suitcases?).
Bentley says this car was also designed for people who like driving. Tooling around the suburbs of Beijing was way more fun than I’d expected – and I’m not sure how much of that is due to China’s excellent road system, or due to the easy driving dynamics of the Flying Spur. We drove from Beijing north to the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall, a drive that took about 3 hours on traffic-jammed roads, then smooth interstates, and finally on curvy local roads passing through small villages.
The steering on the Flying Spur was effortless. The 6.0-liter twin-turbo W-12 engine kicks up into higher speeds easily, and hums along at 100 mph as if it’s no big thing. I mean, it’s got 616 horsepower. It should be fast. The air suspension keeps the car floating above the road, so you can barely feel the bumps in the road. And there was very little body roll, so even when my driving partner was taking turns at 80 mph, the car felt very much in control.
There was virtually no wind noise penetrating the cabin. In fact, it was probably a little too quiet inside– you could barely hear the engine notes even when accelerating.
Up in the front seats, there’s nothing particularly amazing about the Flying Spur’s infotainment system. It comes with an 8-inch touch screen to control the radio and navigation system, and has separate knobs for heating and cooling.
The people who designed the Flying Spur must know a little something about control freaks, because you can control this whole system from a remote control in the back. You can even check on the driver’s speed from this remote.
There are options to add two 10-inch screens mounted on the back of the front seats. It can come with a Wi-Fi router that can connect up to eight devices at once. Separate headphones for each screen mean the two backseat passengers can watch different things at the same time.
Is this car worth more than $200,000? I have no idea. I’ve bought houses for less money than that. And is it the best buy in this stratosphere compared to other luxury cars? Again, I’m at a loss. The car competes with the Rolls Royce Ghost and Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG price-wise. Bentley says they’ll probably also get some customers who also like the Jaguar XJ, Aston Martin Rapide and Maserati Quattroporte.
If you’re willing to shell out that kind of money for a car, chances are you’re looking for a combination of status symbol and a feeling that you own one of the finer things in life. The Bentley Flying Spur won’t let you down in that regard.
AOL Autos has a policy against keeping any free or promotional items valued at more than $25 that are provided by companies to the editorial staff for review. In order to access the latest products and technology for review, we sometimes accept travel and accommodations (along with other members of the press). Our opinions and criticisms are always our own. Our editorial is not for sale, and never will be.
PRESS RELEASE:
Prodrive opens its doors to motorsport fans
Prodrive is opening up its motorsport headquarters at Banbury to the public on July 14 & 15 to raise money for charity.
The business, which runs the Subaru World Rally Team and Aston Martin Racing, and which is entering Formula One in 2008, will give fans the chance to get behind the scenes of one of the world’s largest motorsport facilities.
Johnny Herbert and David Brabham will be driving the Aston Martin DBR9, while the team performs live Le Mans-style pit stops on the car. The Subaru World Rally Team will be setting up its World Rally Championship service park in the grounds and carrying out timed services on Petter Solberg’s Impreza World Rally Car.
Prodrive is opening up all its workshops with staff on hand to explain how the company designs and manufactures all the components and systems for the five different cars it assembles on the site: Subaru Impreza World Rally Car; Subaru Impreza Group N; Aston Martin DBR9; Aston Martin DBRS9 and the Aston Martin Rally GT.
The Aston Martin car display will include some of the famous Bond cars, including the DBS from Casino Royale, while the display of Subaru road cars will include artist, Benedict Radcliffe’s, wire-framed sculpture of the Impreza. In Prodrive’s heritage centre, visitors can see fully restored race and rally cars, including a 1996 Colin McRae Impreza and Richard Burns Safari rally-winning World Rally Car.
A full scale simulator will give rally fans the chance to see how it feels to ride with Petter Solberg on his record breaking run through the Ouninpohja stage at the 2004 Rally Finland.
There will be driver signing sessions and the opportunity to buy team merchandise at specially-discounted prices, as well as an auction of motorsport memorabilia. There is food and entertainment for all ages, with special activities, including quad biking, for young children.
Each day starts at 10am and all proceeds go towards the Oxford Children’s Hospital appeal.
Tickets for each day are priced at £12 for adults; £6 for children (16 and under) with under-5s free. For more information and to purchase tickets please visit www.prodrive.com.