Stop press! Bentley has reintroduced single headlamps to its four-door saloon for the first time since 1962

Given the runaway success of the Bentayga SUV, you’d be forgiven for forgetting all about the four-door Flying Spur in Bentley’s lineup.

But pay attention, because the big saloon has just been facelifted, and we reckon it now looks better than ever. We’re told this new look ensures the Flying Spur’s design philosophy “falls in line with that of the fourth-generation Continental GT family”.

To that end, there are new winged headlights up front, and Bentley is keen to stress this is its first saloon with single lights since the S2 went out of production in 1962. Sleek.

The headlights and front grille now all sit within the front bumper too, while the vent behind the front wheel has gone for a cleaner look. At the rear there’s a new bootlid for a similarly minimal look, and somehow it makes the Flying Spur look sportier. New 22in wheel designs round off the facelift.

Production of this updated saloon will start in September this year, and when it arrives it’ll also bring with it a new S model. Much like the Conti GT S this will sit above the standard car and Azure trim, and it should be a bit of a sweet spot in the range, with Bentley’s Performance Active Chassis (all-wheel drive, twin-valve dampers, torque vectoring, an electronic limited-slip diff, a 48-volt active anti-roll system etc etc) and its V8 hybrid powertrain making 671bhp and 686lb ft of torque. For more power you’ll still be able to spec a Flying Spur Speed, or for more luxury there’s the Mulliner.

The S will also add something that Bentley calls ‘Blackline Specification’. That means black wings, gloss black grilles and dark Bentley lettering, plus black mirror caps and dark tinted full LED matrix headlamps. Just two of those big lamps up front now though, remember…