New four-door Bentley's fastest, most powerful

Bentley has completely revised its Flying Spur sedan for 2014 – in the process making it the company's fastest and most powerful four-door – and dropped the "Continental" from the car's name.

The new Flying Spur, which makes its official debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show early March, features completely refreshed exterior styling, characteristic of a new design language for Bentley.

The car retains several classical styling elements, but looks generally sportier—it's lower and wider, with muscular haunches, deeply sculpted character lines and a more upright grille.

The aluminum body panels are now also lighter and stiffer, thanks to a new aerospace-inspired construction technique.

The interior is similarly almost all new, save only for its predecessor's sun visors, grab handles, armrests; it comes in four-seat or five-seat variants, with a sweeping centre console stretching front to back in the four-seat.

The entire cabin is trimmed in premium natural leather – including on the headliner – and the wood veneer on the dahsboard that wraps around the passengers to the doors is, as it always has been, hand-crafted from sustainably sourced burr walnut or dark fiddleback eucalyptus.  

The optional Naim for Bentley Premium Audio System returns for 2014, now complemented by a new Multi-Media Specification that allows rear passengers to connect their laptops or other devices to the car's own Internet Wi-Fi hotspot.

The Flying Spur uses a 616-horsepower 6.0-litre, twin turbocharged W12 coupled to an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission to get the all-wheel-drive Bentley to a top speed of 322 km/h (200 mph).

On the way there, the car will automatically lower the stance up to eight and 13 centimetres front and rear, respectively, for better stability and aerodynamics.

Pricing and delivery deadlines for the 2014 Bentley Flying Spur are expected to be announced following its motor show debut next month.

(Bentley)