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| Message: | The following is from CAR June, 2005 on the new Continental Flying Spur: "At an indicated 285 km/h (178 mph) the Flying Spur is calm, quiet and incredibly unexciting, just like the Continental GT." "There's a whiff of Korean to the slabby sides." "Debt to the Conti GT is obvious. Except to the Japanese tourist who asked if it was a Rover." "Beautifully executed saloon, but it leaves us cold." Bentley Flying Spur's plastic grille designed with pedestrian safety in mind AUTOMOTIVE NEWS Posted Date: 5/12/05 Observers may be astonished that the wire mesh-looking radiator grille on the $165,000 Bentley Continental Flying Spur is plastic. Bentley is not cost-cutting or trying to save weight on the 5,456-pound sedan. The grille is designed with pedestrian safety in mind, said Engineering Director Ulrich Eichhorn. On impact, the grille breaks, and the relatively soft radiator behind it then deforms, he said. Bentley said it has not designed the grille to help the 2006 Flying Spur meet European Union pedestrian safety regulations, which require a bigger crush zone between the person being hit and so-called hard points such as the engine. “It was to meet our own standards,” Eichhorn said. He doubts that the EU’s new pedestrian safety regulations will do much to protect pedestrians. “No matter how you try to soften it, a car is hard,” Eichhorn said. The “really bad impact” is the secondary impact, when the pedestrian hits the street. Said Eichhorn: “The best thing is to avoid the crash.”  | ||||
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