Byron's idea for a road test in the 2021 Bentley Flying Spur V8 went off the rails in a heartbeat, but what does it mean to drive an "entry-level" luxury car with an almost-$200,000 price tag?
Transcript
BYRON: Hey, everybody. It's Byron here with Autoblog, and I'm standing next to the 2021 Bentley Flying Spur V8. This is the new entry level Bentley. It's only packing about 550 horsepower. I think the exact figure is 542 which is down quite a bit from the 625 plus you get with the Big 12 cylinder. That said, it's still a heck of a lot of car. It might be lighter and a little more alive, but it's still large. This thing is a full foot longer than my Dodge Challenger was, so I actually had to make extra room in my '60s Cadillac spec Detroit area garage just to fit this sucker in it.
Now, I've been really impressed by this so far, but I really haven't spent a ton of time with it. The thing that really stands out to me is that Bentley optioned this with just about everything. But--
Yeah, that part's fine. You know that's not what I want to talk about. Skip ahead to the part where you thought it would be hilarious to hit poor people.
I didn't think it would be funny to actually hit poor people. It was just a joke.
OK. All right. Fine. Look.
It was harmless fun. People are being way too sensitive about this.
I'm going to try this. Tell me about the fly swatter.
OK. Yeah, all right. I got a little carried away. I mean--
Roll it.
I've noticed from posting this on social media that there are a few things Bentley left out. As it turns out, when you drive a car like this or even when you have one in your possession, you should be able to do something to distance yourself from poor people. Bentley delivered this with a Sport specification and the Mulliner specification and the interior this, that, other specification, but it didn't deliver it with the "getting rid of the poors" specification. So I've optioned it myself. I made this, as you can see, it's official Bentley friendly overture specification. So when someone comes up to you, and they ask you for money, you extend a friendly overture.
I don't even know where to start.
I don't hate poor people. I don't hate any people.
No, I should hope not because you are poor people.
Dude.
Yeah, OK. The self-loathing thing is just going to extend your session. You're going to end up paying me even more money you don't have. You realize I can see your insurance. Right?
Look who's talking Mr. I own one sweater.
Yeah. At this rate, I'll be able to afford an entirely new wardrobe. Do you seriously not understand how stupid this idea was?
Look, I just thought it would play well on social media. OK? I thought it would be fun, maybe get a little viral attention, do something kind of like different with this big fancy car. It didn't have to be stuffy and weird. It could be, I don't know, still weird? I was trying to riff off all the comments that it was this really nice car, was too nice to be in my garage at my house in my neighborhood. I don't, I thought they'd like it if I was in on the joke, you know? Like, self-deprecating, what's wrong with that?
So let me get this straight. You engineered an entire bit about hating on poor people just to appease randos on Twitter who were probably, themselves, insecure poor people. Is that about Right? Does that sum it up? Just tell me you didn't actually spend money doing this. You already owned the flyswatter at least, right?
What, is some sort of crime against mental health to commit to a bit? You know what, I think it would have worked if I had dressed better.
Get out, get out.
More Autoblog Videos
Oct 25, 2022
The 2023 Ford Escape gets a light refresh for the new model year. Exterior changes are mostly in the nose. It gets a new, taller grille with the badge moved into the middle of it. A full-width daytime running light is now available. And there's now an ST-Line version that …
Sep 28, 2022
David Demmith, Vehicle Integration Supervisor on the Super Duty Program of Ford Motor Company walks us through engine configuration for the all-new F-Series Super Duty.
Sep 28, 2022
Ford Super Duty Brand Manager Steven Lee gives us a closer look at the all-new Ford F-Series Super Duty and all the tech updates and redesigns it has received.
Sep 20, 2022
Kicking off the Detroit Concours weekend was Cars and Community. It was a blend of Radwood, a show just for cars from the 1980s to the 1990s, and Concours d'Lemons, a celebration of unusual and sometimes unloved classic cars. The event featured close to 200 cars. The vehicles on display …
Sep 20, 2022
In the switch from Concours of America to the Detroit Concours d'Elegance comes a change of venue. It was hosted at the Detroit Institute of Art in the city's downtown area. Like Cars and Community, the concours had a wide array of automobiles, more than 100 of them. They included …
Sep 19, 2022
The best cars and SUVs from the 2022 North American International Auto Show. As tends to be the case in this post-ish-pandemic world of auto shows, the North American International Auto Show was a strange one. It was at least mostly indoors and thus not at the mercy of Mother …
Sep 16, 2022
The best cars and SUVs from the 2022 North American International Auto Show. As tends to be the case in this post-ish-pandemic world of auto shows, the North American International Auto Show was a strange one. It was at least mostly indoors and thus not at the mercy of Mother …
Sep 15, 2022
Say hello to the 2024 Ford Mustang. Dodge may have just put the pin in its V8-powered muscle cars, but Ford is far from done selling its fire-breathing coupe as the Mustang enters its seventh generation. Rumors of hybrid powertrains flew for years leading up to this Mustang’s reveal, but …
Sep 12, 2022
Well purists, prepare to be engaged. The 2023 Toyota Supra can now be had with a six-speed manual transmission. Admittedly, only with the 3.0-liter inline-six and not the base four banger, but you didn’t want that thing anyway. Set off the fireworks, call your dealer, prepare to write angry comments …
Sep 12, 2022
The Jeep 4xe day is here, and in addition to laying out electrification plans, the brand revealed some all-new and very interesting products. And we'll get to those in a bit, but first let's cover the broad strokes. The long-term goal is for Jeep to only offer electric models in …
Sep 12, 2022
The door handles in the Lexus RX are both push-button AND an old-fashioned double-pull lever. This is why. For more visit www.autoblog.com #lexus #lexusrx #rx
Sep 12, 2022
The 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV gets its big reveal today, and GM is detailing a number of vital specs for every motor, battery and trim configuration, but it’s only providing a price estimate for the base 1LT model, telling us that it will start “around $30,000.” That base model gets …
Sep 12, 2022
The Jeep 4xe day is here, and in addition to laying out electrification plans, the brand revealed some all-new and very interesting products. And we'll get to those in a bit, but first let's cover the broad strokes. The long-term goal is for Jeep to only offer electric models in …