Bentley Flying Spur ‘Reindeer Eight’ debuts, for Santa

Bentley has taken the veils off a bespoke Flying Spur V8, one commissioned by the Mulliner team for a very special customer – Santa Claus. We’re not kidding. It has been a tough year after all, so why not have some fun during this festive season?

The car, dubbed the ‘Reindeer Eight’, is finished in the deep red Cricket Bauble paint, a unique shade created for the customer based on Cricket Ball. This is just one out of 62 shades available in the Extended Range portfolio.

Up front, a gold three-dimensional printed reindeer is used in place of the usual Flying B mascot, and the standard chrome bonnet strip gets the same golden finish. The V8 badges on the side have also been replaced with ‘Reindeer Eight’ badges, because you know, Santa.

As part of the gold styling specification, the bespoke model gets carbon-fibre diffuser on both the front and rear bumpers, carbon-fibre door sills, and a carbon-fibre boot spoiler. It also gets Mulliner Driving Specification 22-inch wheels with a gold/diamond finish, each shod with all-season tyres.

Inside, the Cricket Bauble theme continues. Red leather is used almost everywhere, from the dashboard to the twin-flute designed seats, headlining, door panels and steering wheel. It also comes complete with gold embroidery and 11,100 hand sewn stitching, a process that took up to 18 hours per craftsperson. Santa’s name, along with his wife’s, are embroidered onto the seats.

Other details include a Grand Black veneer display on the passenger side of the dash, featuring a depiction of the North Pole. Of course, the Bentley Rotating Display is featured here as well, but comes with a twist. When the engine start button is pressed, a welcome sound of sleigh bells jingling comes on, before the veneer section rotates to reveal a 12.3-inch touchscreen display.

Just for gags, a Naughty and Nice list has been integrated in to the navigation system. The second side of the display reveals three analogue dials showing outside temperature, a compass and a chronometer. The third side is simply a Grand Black veneer fascia, which blends seamlessly into the entire dash.

No changes have been made to the powertrain, so the 4.0 litre twin-turbocharged Reindeer Eight engine produces 550 PS and 770 Nm of torque. An eight-speed automatic transmission propels the Flying Spur from 0-100 km/h in 4.1 seconds and a top speed of 318 km/h. Would that be fast enough to lap the globe in one night, though? Have a very merry Christmas, folks!

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