If the 2020 Flying Spur is a kind of ideal Continental, then it may also be the ideal high-powered executive sedan. The model’s comprehensive overhaul—the first for the ’Spur in about a decade and a half, and therefore the first in the model’s history—has added length by way of a new platform already in use in the Continental, and VW family member the Porsche Panamera, another exec-oriented sedan.

But the new Flying Spur won’t be competing head-on with its German cousin. The Bentley is another order of business. It can hit 207 MPH, its new tech includes an optional night vision camera, and full touchscreen control over navigation and infotainment is available to passengers in back. It’s nimbler than a stretch, boasts a bigger cabin than the outgoing version, and boasts the company’s first rear-wheel steering system. It’s also a heck of a lot faster to 60; its newly revised 6L W12 can propel the car to the mark in just 3.7 seconds. Very impressive, considering the vehicle weighs north of 5,300 pounds. A light-armored version would make the ideal staff car for upper-echelon civil servants and CEOs; many of them, no doubt, will be produced for the Chinese market.

The grille bears out the car’s intended usage profile; it’s enlarged and forceful, belying the otherwise gentile, graceful exterior. Inside, the 2020 Flying Spur is all luxury, with 3D diamond-quilted leather upholstery, plentiful wood, and bronze embellishments as ballast for the substantial tech of the touchscreen and digital instruments. In keeping with Bentley’s persona, it’s forward-looking with an eye to historical relevance.

Bentley has yet to announce pricing for the 2020 Flying Spur. But the company will be taking orders late this year, with first deliveries slated for the first quarter of next year.