Compare the2024 Bentley Flying SpurVS 2024 BMW 7 Series

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Bentley Flying Spur have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The BMW 7 Series doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Bentley Flying Spur are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The BMW 7 Series doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Flying Spur. But it costs extra on the 7 Series.

An active infrared night vision system optional on the Flying Spur helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera and near-infrared lights to detect heat, the system then projects the image on the windshield, near the driver’s line of sight. The 7 Series doesn’t offer a night vision system.

Both the Flying Spur and the 7 Series have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available lane departure warning systems.

The Flying Spur comes with a full 3-year/unlimited-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire car and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The 7 Series’ 50,000-mile basic warranty expires sooner.

The Flying Spur has more powerful engines than the 7 Series:

As tested in Motor Trend the Bentley Flying Spur turbo V8 is faster than the 760i 4.4 turbo V8 hybrid:

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Flying Spur (except Hybrid)’s fuel efficiency. The 7 Series doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

The Flying Spur Hybrid’s standard fuel tank has 1.5 gallons more fuel capacity than the 7 Series (21 vs. 19.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Flying Spur’s standard fuel tank has 4.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the 7 Series (23.8 vs. 19.5 gallons).

The Flying Spur offers a standard sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The 7 Series doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

For better stopping power the Flying Spur’s brake rotors are larger than those on the 7 Series:

The Flying Spur stops shorter than the 7 Series:

For better traction, the Flying Spur has larger standard tires than the 7 Series (F:265/45R20 & R:295/40R20 vs. F:255/45R20 & R:285/40R20). The Flying Spur’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the 7 Series (F:275/35R22 & R:315/30R22 vs. F:255/45R20 & R:285/40R20).

The Flying Spur’s optional 275/35R22 front and 315/30R22 rear tires provide better handling because they have a lower 35 series front and 30 series rear profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the 7 Series’ optional 40 series front and 35 series rear tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Flying Spur offers optional 22-inch wheels. The 7 Series’ largest wheels are only 21-inches.

The Flying Spur handles at .98 G’s, while the 760i xDrive pulls only .89 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Flying Spur executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.4 seconds quicker than the 760i xDrive (24.7 seconds @ .78 average G’s vs. 26.1 seconds @ .73 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Flying Spur Rear Wheel Steering’s turning circle is 3.4 feet tighter than the 7 Series’ (36.3 feet vs. 39.7 feet). The Flying Spur’s turning circle is 2.8 feet tighter than the 7 Series xDrive’s (37.6 feet vs. 40.4 feet).

The Flying Spur has a much larger trunk than the 7 Series (14.8 vs. 13.7 cubic feet).

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the Flying Spur to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The 7 Series doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.