Compare the2026 Bentley Flying SpurVS 2026 Audi A8

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Flying Spur are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The A8 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Flying Spur has standard whiplash protection, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the whiplash protection system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The A8 doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Flying Spur has standard Maneuver Assist that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The A8 doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

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 A8 doesn’t offer a night vision system.

The Bentley Flying Spur’s rear backup camera has a standard washer for maintaining a clear view under various conditions. In contrast, the Audi A8 does not offer a rear camera washer, meaning its effectiveness relies on manual cleaning by the user when necessary.

The Flying Spur has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the A8’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Flying Spur has standard Reversing Traffic Warning and automatically engage the brakes. Audi charges extra for Rear Cross-Traffic Assist on the A8.

Both the Flying Spur and the A8 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems and around view monitors.

The Bentley Flying Spur weighs 1071 pounds more than the Audi A8. The NHTSA advises that heavier cars are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

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 A8’s 50,000-mile basic warranty expires sooner.

The Flying Spur’s standard 4.0 turbo V8 hybrid produces 336 more horsepower (671 vs. 335) and 317 lbs.-ft. more torque (686 vs. 369) than the A8’s 3.0 turbo V6 hybrid. The Flying Spur SPEED’s standard 4.0 turbo V8 hybrid produces 436 more horsepower (771 vs. 335) and 369 lbs.-ft. more torque (738 vs. 369) than the A8’s 3.0 turbo V6 hybrid.

On the EPA test cycle the Flying Spur SPEED running on electricity gets better mileage than the A8 (43 city/51 hwy MPGe vs. 19 city/27 hwy).

The Flying Spur SPEED can travel with zero emissions for 30 miles. The A8 can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

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 A8 doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

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 A8 doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

The Flying Spur’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s precisely in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The A8 doesn’t offer launch control.

For better stopping power the Flying Spur’s brake rotors are larger than those on the A8:

For better traction, the Flying Spur’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the A8 (F:275/35R22 & R:315/30R22 vs. 265/40R20).

The Flying Spur’s standard 305/35R21 rear tires provide better handling because they have a lower 35 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the A8’s standard 40 series tires. The Flying Spur’s 315/30R22 rear tires have a lower 30 series profile than the A8’s optional 35 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Flying Spur has standard 21-inch wheels. Smaller 20-inch wheels are standard on the A8. The Flying Spur’s 22-inch wheels are larger than the 21-inch wheels optional on the A8.

The Flying Spur has active sway bars, which help keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnect at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The A8 doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

The Flying Spur offers an available adjustable active suspension system, which counteracts cornering forces actively, limiting body roll and improving handling and stability. Audi doesn’t offer an active suspension on the A8.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Flying Spur’s wheelbase is 2.6 inches longer than on the A8 (125.7 inches vs. 123.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Flying Spur is 1.1 inches wider in the front and 1.2 inches wider in the rear than on the A8.

The Flying Spur handles at .98 G’s, while the A8 55 TFSI pulls only .93 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Flying Spur executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.2 seconds quicker than the A8 55 TFSI (24.7 seconds @ .78 average G’s vs. 25.9 seconds @ .7 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Flying Spur’s turning circle is 5.2 feet tighter than the A8’s (37.1 feet vs. 42.3 feet).

The Flying Spur has .9 inches more front headroom, 3.7 inches more front legroom and .2 inches more rear headroom than the A8.

The Flying Spur has a much larger trunk than the A8 (14.8 vs. 12.5 cubic feet).

The A8’s cornering lamps activate a lamp on the front corner when the turn signal is activated. The Flying Spur’s standard adaptive cornering lights turn the actual headlight unit up to several degrees, depending on steering wheel angle and vehicle speed. This lights a significant distance into corners at any speed.

Both the Bentley Flying Spur and the Audi A8 have a standard Qi wireless phone charging system in the front seat. To easily keep personal devices charged in the rear seat, without cables tangling and wearing out, the Flying Spur also offers an optional wireless charging system in the rear seat. The A8 does not.

According to iSeeCars.com the 2025 Bentley Flying Spur retains 53.16% of its original value after 5 years, significantly more than the 37.4% resale value of the 2025 Audi A8 after five years, which can save the Bentley’s owner.