SimplyAbuDhabi XII

3 3 6 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I Under this glorious new skin, the Flying Spur’s structure has been stiffened to enhance the car’s driving characteristics and handling. This has been achieved by strengthening the front cross-members, B-pillars and sills. Bentley itself claims a mere four-percent increase in torsional stiffness over the outgoing model but, while that car was already impressively ‘tight’ the newer car feels even more so. To offset these additions, weight has been reduced in the car’s bodyshell, with the use of an aluminium bonnet and front wings, complemented by a composite boot lid. According to Bentley, this shaves a pretty impressive 110 pounds from the Flying Spur’s overall weight. Climb inside and you’re sitting in a completely new interior. Some elements are pleasingly familiar though. Those high quality sun visors, grab handles and armrests look the same but now they nestle in a choice of four- or five-seat cabin layout. Choose the four seat option and the centre rear seat is replaced by a full-length console housing controls for added comfort. The perfect leather that covers almost everything you touch comes in 12 different colours, and seven wood veneers are on offer as standard. However, if your imagination and (and budget) go further, name your colours and Bentley will provide them. Speaking of wood, there’s very nearly 108 square feet of it in each Flying Spur, all the seats are heated and ventilated, there are power-operated sunshades for the rear windows, and there’s a refrigerator available in the rear to keep those drinks nicely chilled. And as if all that isn’t enough, a touch-screen remote control emerges from the rear console, allowing passengers to adjust the climate-control, navigation settings and audio system from their seats. For this new Flying Spur, Bentley have also added a newMulti-Media Specification, which places a 10-inch LCD screen and DVD player in the back of each front seat, along withUSB, SD, and HDMI ports, plus headphone jacks. Both screens are backed up by the Bentley Connectivity Unit, which features a built-in Wi-Fi hotspot and 64 gigabytes of storage. Of course, if you demandmore, an even-richer Mulliner Specification is also available, bringing five extra colour choices for the leather upholstery and five additional wood