The thing about Bentley is that it has a history of racing and sports car building that its chum in the British luxury car market Rolls Royce never bothered itself with. Traditionally Bentley was freer with performance statistics and engineering specs. Gone now however are the days of almost Victorian modesty about technology when the question about how much horsepower the engine puts out was met with a decorous "sufficient" and the top speed described as "adequate".

How does 200 mph and zero to 60 mph in four and a half seconds sit with you for a luxury four-door car? Or what about a maximum torque delivered at just 1,600 rpm continuing the Bentley tradition? The darn thing just never stops accelerating until the road ahead seems to be a still speck at the end of a long blurry tunnel.

The Continental Flying Spur Speed now has a retuned speed-sensitive Servotronic system, solid mounted front sub-frame and stiffer rear bushings. The result of these modifications is found in remarkable acceleration, effortless overtaking ability and a dynamic drive.

Or perhaps the full-time four-wheel-drive arrangement that, when coupled with the lowered suspension and engine-management system set to sport mode allowed us to arrive, tires discreetly smoking after 23 hairpin turns in 11 kilometers, at the top of Jebel Hafeet in the UAE with a passenger with a face in an expression terminal rictus? That's what a history of motorsport does for a manufacturer.

In addition, the statistics matter, but pale into insignificance when you open the door for the first time and smell the leather and wood of this lovely piece of engineering, lined with the immaculate skins of a small herd's output of the finest leather.

The Flying Spur's cabin is exquisitely crafted, and crafted is the right word. People are involved in its construction, people with incredibly rare skills. For example the guy with the fork who pricks out the marks for the stitching holes on the steering wheel. Why use a fork? Simple, the tines are perfectly placed for the job.

The wood veneers and leather that cocoon everyone in the vehicle lend a club feel to the interior. Fittings such as the organ-stop air vent controls, that look like solid metal are indeed solid metal.  Detail such as this combine to create an ambience of comfort, wellbeing and a truly personal feel.

This is somewhat disturbed by the horses when the right foot goes down. Happy to hiss along a highway in a very respectable imitation of low flying, when encouraged to break from a companionable canter to a gallop the engine responds with a muted basso growl from somewhere in front as the twin turbos engage seamlessly and the never-ending torque is unleashed. Delicious and quite possibly exciting!

Never designed as a sports car, the Flying Spur Sport is the automotive equivalent of an Olympic athlete smartly decked out in his finest suiting rolling up his shirtsleeves for a demonstration sprint at school sports day; incredibly decorous, surprising but positively dripping style.

The Flying Spur Speed is a big weighty vehicle but handles in the manner of something half a ton lighter. It is unique as being the world's fastest four-door vehicle. And it gets better. Two new models have been launched especially for the Arabian market.

The performance of the W12, 6-liter engine enables Flying Spur Arabia to achieve a potential top speed of 312 km/h and a 0-100 km/h sprint time of just 4.9 seconds. The Flying Spur Speed Arabia offers a more powerful 600-bhp version of Bentley's W12 with 553 lb-ft of torque. This is a nine percent increase in power and 15 percent increase in torque over its sister model, and will drive from 0-100 km/h in 4.8 seconds with a top speed of 322 km/h.

Tradition in some areas is a fine thing. When it comes to satellite navigation and the car's infotainment system, tradition has a much shorter time span and electronics art the cutting edge of things in January are archaeological curiosities by March. The system in the test car was, to put it delicately, awful. Entering information was slow and clunky, the display poor quality and positively fraught with danger should the driver wish to operate it on the move. It involves long periods staring at the screen, not the road. On the up side, the nice lady inside the beautifully crafted box was wonderfully polite; she even asked whether we would please take the next exit.

This is a wonderful car to experience. It could be seen as falling between stools as neither sports car nor luxury limousine. That however would be short-sighted. It is a supremely comfortable town and long-range cruising vehicle in the true Gran Turismo tradition. However, a quick press of a couple of buttons and the car transforms into Brooklands banking burner with buckets of style. Try one!