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Sport sedans operate in a gray area where practicality gives way to emotion. A thoroughly rational shopping list of the world's best examples would include the Audi S6, the BMW M5, the Cadillac CTS-V, the Lexus IS-F, and the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG. But pragmatism, logic, and good sense are rarely the deciding factors when considering an irrational purchase like a $100K-plus, 150-mph-plus automobile. Instead, right-brain values come to the forefront - style, rarity, sophistication, glamour, equipment, image, and, yes, sex appeal. The aforementioned sedans are undeniably speedy and dynamically impressive - but at the end of the day, the M5 isn't much more than a 528i on steroids, the S6 is an A6 that has undergone a complicated heart transplant via Sant'Agata Bolognese, the CTS-V and the IS-F both have relatively humble genetic backgrounds, and the E63 AMG started life on the same assembly line as 75 percent of the German taxi population.
So, we're left with three truly uncommon four-doors that excite by design, stun through performance, and convince with ability. It's hard to find a sedan that's more luxurious and bigger inside than the Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed. If you think this car is only a tricked-out Volkswagen Phaeton wearing a Savile Row suit, think again. Consider also its impeccable craftsmanship, supreme road manners, and explosive torque delivery. For a hooligan's delight in a plain wrapper, you need look no further than the Jaguar XFR. Its body may look like the product of a brief love affair between Ford and Lexus, but the handling talent hidden deep inside is true and rare, and the kick provided by the new, direct-injection supercharged V-8 peels tarmac like a dragster. Finally, the Maserati Quattroporte, especially in Sport GT S guise, perfectly fuses an eclectic piece of rolling art and a thoroughbred four-seat race car, and it does so to the accompaniment of some amazing music.
This will not be a cold, clinical, numbers-crunching showdown. For a start, there is simply no fair points scheme for entrants as far apart in price, positioning, and personality as the 600-hp, $204,795 Bentley; the 510-hp, $80,000 Jaguar; and the 433-hp, $138,100 Maserati. That's why we're guided not only by facts but also by controversial, opinionated, and often very personal arguments.
For instance, the Quattroporte Sport GT S makes a visual statement that is impossible to ignore. Like a scantily clad supermodel taking a walk on her day off, the beauty from Modena slices through the crowd with an emphatic swagger, accompanied by a sound track that doesn't seem street-legal. Even before you push the sport button, the 4.7-liter V-8 intones an acoustic italianità that even the late Pavarotti would have been hard-pressed to match. Every blip of the throttle makes windowpanes rattle and birds scatter; any deep accelerator dive toward the firewall threatens to momentarily blur the field of vision; and when the underhood orchestra eventually climaxes at the redline, the phonetic punch becomes almost physical. For a full-strength acoustic earthquake, hit the sport button and relish the staccato of throttle blips that accompany every downshift and pay extra attention to the violent blat-blat as one gear chases the next.
While the Maserati is all about voluptuous curves and mighty aural impact, the Bentley beguiles you with acres of splendid isolation, a landslide of torque, and back-seat space that rivals a first-class sky suite. From the outside, the Flying Spur may look to some like a circa-2003 Hyundai XG350 that has spent a couple of summers with Mr. Mulliner and Mrs. Park Ward. Inside, however, the Speed is pure Buckingham Palace: there is soft leather everywhere, and the choice of timber and man-made surfaces would fill an interior design encyclopedia. Sybaritic delights include the sensational 1100-watt Naim audio system, lamb's-wool rugs that are almost too special for anything but bare feet, and a ride that, at the turn of a knob, can vary from cloud-nine soft to Silverstone firm. The only irritations are the outmoded navigation system, the garish Breitling clock, and the depressingly fast-moving fuel gauge.
In a way, the Jaguar doesn't belong in this group. Its size and style are more executive express than dream machine, and surely that supercharged engine can't make that much difference. But prejudice exists to be refuted, and that's what the contender from Coventry does in a compelling and convincing manner. The supercharged and intercooled V-8 catapults the Jaguar into the supersedan champion's league. It accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds, trailing the Bentley by 0.2 second while eclipsing the Quattroporte by 0.4 second, according to their makers. The unrestricted Flying Spur Speed will top a remarkable 200 mph and the Maserati is good for 177 mph, but the XFR is electronically red-flagged at 155 mph. On back roads, however, the corner-greedy Jaguar is in a realm of its own. It harbors deep reserves of low-end grunt; its ordinary, cast-iron brakes out-decelerate the competition by an almost supernatural margin; and the steering is a precision instrument. The Bentley is the fastest in a straight line, and the Maserati is the uncontested rev master of this threesome, but as soon as radii, apexes, and undulations up the ante, only one car is as addictive as a drug.
Keep the stability control button pushed for at least five seconds, and the XFR will don its track suit, racing gloves, and helmet. From here, up to 461 lb-ft of torque are controlled solely by the driver's right foot. On wet surfaces, fourth-gear wheel spin is easy - that's how loose those 285/30YR-20 rear Dunlops can be. On dry pavement, the grip level improves, but third-gear tail-slides are still second nature for this tactile and talented cat. Although the Quattroporte, too, will indulge in power oversteer, it needs more whip action on the part of the jockey - as well as an extra acre of turf, just in case. Even with stability control switched off, the Maserati's nicely balanced chassis refuses to be upset until the power-and-torque cocktail takes effect, which usually deflects the trajectory by at least 45 degrees. The Flying Spur, too, can be pushed sideways like a rally car - on a frozen lake near the Arctic Circle. But on blacktop, the only variation in handling attitude concerns the amount of understeer. Despite four-wheel drive, the Bentley's inherent nose-heaviness requires a different driving style: brake early to squash the momentum, turn in early to protect the front tires, set up the nose for the apex, and then give it stick as you exit the bend with little drama, as befits the car's tux-and-bow-tie approach……
Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed, Jaguar XFR, Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S - Stability Control - Sport Sedan Comparison - Automobile Magazine
Best part of the whole car!!!
