2012 Bentley Continental Flying Spur Series 51

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The Continental Flying Spur and its sporting stablemate the 200 mph Flying Spur Speed are the most successful four-door Grand Tourers in Bentley's history and among the best-selling ultra-luxury saloons in the world.

Series 51 represents Bentley design at its most vibrant. It allows customers of both Continental Flying Spur and Flying Spur Speed to order 'off the peg' from an innovative and exclusive range of recommended combinations created by Bentley's color and trim designers at the company's headquarters in Crewe, England, as Dirk van Braeckel, Bentley's director of design comments: "The Series 51 design concept is inspired by the spirit of the inaugural Bentley styling department in Crewe established by the gifted John Blatchley, who shaped the original and iconic 1950s Bentley Continentals. Today, it provides for a virtually bespoke ordering service due to the thousands of configurations available through Bentley's expansive color and trim catalogue."

Bentley's color and trim team has now created no fewer than 14 unique Series 51 designs for the Continental Flying Spur and Flying Spur Speed, enabling customers to tailor their cars to their individual tastes.

For Series 51 designs, the Bentley styling team operates on a 'rule of three' principle to create complex but harmonizing color schemes of depth and beauty, inspired by a customer's simple choice of three contrasting colors. With luxurious wood veneers and leather hides as the main canvas, the color and trim specialists begin with a main interior color (typically a darker shade) and then select a second insert color to provide an eye-catching contrast. A critical skill is identifying the third 'accent' color for the stitching and piping.

The selection of wood veneers or aluminum panels for the dashboard either complements the overall look or provides even greater contrast if the customer so desires.

Bentley has reserved the limited-edition Sapelli Pomelle veneer (which provides a rare, naturally occurring quilted effect in the wood) for the Series 51 Flying Spur and a range of further options, including Bentley's leather trimmed child seat and scatter cushions for the rear seats, may also be specified to further complement the exclusive design.

Whilst the 14 options for the Series 51 Flying Spur provide customers with the opportunity to select some of Bentley's most eye-catching design work, the color and trim team is also more than happy to create even more bespoke designs, knowing they have only shown a fraction of the possibilities.

Bentley Continental Flying Spur Series 51: Review (2/2)