The Flying Spur Is So Old Bentley Is Asking Mulliner For Help Selling It

How many special edition models have to come out until none are special any more?

Time is the only real currency us mortal beings have. It’s why no one envies the rich business man that never has time with his kids and who would be happier if he traded places with the Salvadorian woman who’s raising them. It’s also, unbeknownst to most, the only form of happiness that money can buy. With money there’s less need to spend time working and a person can enjoy the smaller things in life like the flash of color on a suit lining or the vibrant stitching on a leather saddle.

Or at least that’s what Bentley thinks is what rich people spend their free time appreciating after an afternoon yoga session following their midday brunch. To help in that pursuit, the automaker tasked its in-house tuning division, Mulliner, with creating a series of 100 special edition Flying Spurs. The Design Series is available across the entire range, cladding the V8, W12, V8 S, and W12 S models with five interior and exterior color splits. Among these shades are Mandarin, Pillar Box Red, White, Kingfisher, and Azure Purple, all hand picked by the Mulliner team to invoke that aforementioned appreciation for stitching on saddle leather or the flash of color on a suit lining. Or whatever you’re into for that matter.

New not just for Bentley but for the auto industry as a whole is a material comprised of carbon fiber that's been enriched with titanium, though despite what the press release claims, Pagani previously melded the two materials together to make what Horacio Pagani called “carbotanium.” But that was not enough for Bentley, which is why Mulliner threw in a new front bumper design for the two S models, a lower fine line up front, and LED Welcome Lamps that reflect the word “Mulliner” on the ground at night. For the top trim W12 S, Mulliner adds black bright ware around the headlamps and grille as well as 21-inch wheels painted in Gloss Black. Typical for Bentley, there’s no mention of the price. They just assume real customers won't have to ask.

It's Time We Stopped Asking BMW For A New M1 Supercar

Not only because BMW is probably tired of being asked.

For years there’ve been rumors flying around regarding the prospects of BMW doing a reborn M1 supercar. The automaker got everyone talking, more seriously this time, when it launched its M1 Concept in 2008. In the end, it turned out to be nothing more than a 30th anniversary tribute to the original and iconic M1 sports car, but that homage concept definitely got people talking. Today, nearly a decade later, talk is still going on regarding an M1 revival, and it really ought to stop. For good.

BMW has no intention or need to build one, as CarAdvice more or less just confirmed. BMW M boss, Frank Van Meel, stated at Frankfurt that BMW is “trying to make cars for customers, and trying to reach as many customers as possible – but to build a car for 200 people would not be our main target.” Why 200? Because he’s basing it on the 250 planned Project Ones Mercedes-AMG will build. Van Meel further made clear that BMW M is fully capable of building a new M1 that could conceivable face off against the likes of the Audi R8 and Mercedes-AMG GT S. Van Meel and his team could even go further and do an outright Project One fighter, though that’d be more difficult because BMW doesn’t take part in F1.

“If you look at the tradition of M, we came from being the first company to take a series of production car and making a high-performance car out of that, and it was copied by a lot of other companies, also AMG,” Van Meel said. More importantly is that Van Meel feels he and BMW have nothing to prove with a supercar. “I also think M is the ultimate driving machine, and I don’t need something to make clear that we really are the ultimate driving machine. We have the M2 to the X6 M to say that – I don’t need a halo car to bring out the message. I don’t feel the need to have a halo car.” Perhaps the closest thing we’ll ever get to a reborn M1 is the upcoming M8, which Van Meel described as “a very, very interesting car, very fast.”

Despite everything, Van Meel did express enthusiasm at the possibility of doing a new M1, but it’s simply not on the list of priorities. It may never have to be, and Van Meel, of all people, fully understands why.

It's Time We Stopped Asking BMW For A New M1 Supercar

Not only because BMW is probably tired of being asked.

For years there’ve been rumors flying around regarding the prospects of BMW doing a reborn M1 supercar. The automaker got everyone talking, more seriously this time, when it launched its M1 Concept in 2008. In the end, it turned out to be nothing more than a 30th anniversary tribute to the original and iconic M1 sports car, but that homage concept definitely got people talking. Today, nearly a decade later, talk is still going on regarding an M1 revival, and it really ought to stop. For good.

BMW has no intention or need to build one, as CarAdvice more or less just confirmed. BMW M boss, Frank Van Meel, stated at Frankfurt that BMW is “trying to make cars for customers, and trying to reach as many customers as possible – but to build a car for 200 people would not be our main target.” Why 200? Because he’s basing it on the 250 planned Project Ones Mercedes-AMG will build. Van Meel further made clear that BMW M is fully capable of building a new M1 that could conceivable face off against the likes of the Audi R8 and Mercedes-AMG GT S. Van Meel and his team could even go further and do an outright Project One fighter, though that’d be more difficult because BMW doesn’t take part in F1.

“If you look at the tradition of M, we came from being the first company to take a series of production car and making a high-performance car out of that, and it was copied by a lot of other companies, also AMG,” Van Meel said. More importantly is that Van Meel feels he and BMW have nothing to prove with a supercar. “I also think M is the ultimate driving machine, and I don’t need something to make clear that we really are the ultimate driving machine. We have the M2 to the X6 M to say that – I don’t need a halo car to bring out the message. I don’t feel the need to have a halo car.” Perhaps the closest thing we’ll ever get to a reborn M1 is the upcoming M8, which Van Meel described as “a very, very interesting car, very fast.”

Despite everything, Van Meel did express enthusiasm at the possibility of doing a new M1, but it’s simply not on the list of priorities. It may never have to be, and Van Meel, of all people, fully understands why.