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| A true Bentley |
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I'd like to say it was my sublime talent that made the difference and that you'd need years of specialist training even to countenance driving round in circles at that kind of speed, but I can't. Yes, there is a tremendous mental hurdle to overcome because it is so, well, fast, and the car does have to be driven with a certain precision. Also, at those places on the track where the wind attacks the side of the car and pushes it up the banking you need a firm hand and some resolve not to give in to the shouts from your brain telling you to lift off the throttle, and instead keep it nailed to the floor and guide the car back down with the wheel. But, to be honest, I reckon I could teach any decent driver to pilot a Flying Spur round this track at 200mph in no time at all.
And that is the greatest compliment I can pay this extraordinary car. Take my word for it, this was not a simple thing to do because driving around this track at those speeds is not an inherently easy thing to do: the Bentley made it easy. Aerodynamically, despite lacking anything you'd recognise as a wing or a spoiler, it didn't put a foot wrong. I have driven many cars in a straight line that are less aerodynamically stable at 150mph than this Spur is when cornering at over 200mph.
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| Don't try this at home... unless you have a private track |
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So the next time someone suggests that they don't make proper Bentleys any more, tell them they're only showing their ignorance. If a large, ultra luxurious saloon that can corner at 200mph with the air-conditioning on isn't the mark of a true Bentley, I'm not sure I'll ever know what is.
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