Luxury Meets Lowbrow When You Misbehave in a Bentley W-12

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Slipping through the dappled shade of a skinny, twisty mountain road, I tried to describe the structure of a W-12 engine to my passengers. "It's like a V-12, but crinkled up," I attempted after the technically accurate but visually unhelpful, "It's like two VW VR6 engines joined together." Finally, I went with: "Imagine putting two loose six-packs of soda away in the fridge. If you line them up straight, they don't fit on the shelf, but if you stagger them slightly, you can squeeze them all in."

I imagine most Bentley passengers don't care that much about the construction of the W-12, only that its smooth performance and elite reputation carry them unruffled to their destination, but Robert and Suzanne Williams aren't your average back-seat luxury riders. Both in their 80s, they remain as curious and technically minded as when they first met in art school back in the 1960s. Which means they quizzed me mercilessly on the specs of the Bentley Flying Spur Speed on the way up the mountain.

After stumbling through the explanation for the 6.0-liter W-12 with its dual overhead cams, 626 horses, and 664 pound-feet of torque, attention turned to the various features and controls in the spacious back seat. Suzanne was delighted by the split climate controls—she's always too hot, he's always too cold—and Bob enjoyed creating mystery by raising the side window privacy screens and reclining his seat to its full extension. Both were happy to discover the little secret compartment behind the center console, which I had filled with snacks, but they were disappointed that it wasn't air-conditioned like in a Rolls-Royce.

Not that either has spent that much time in a modern Rolls. The Williamses are successful artists who, at this point in their lives, could probably have the luxury car of their choice, but they started as rebels and maintain a certain punk-rock aesthetic to this day, which is exactly why I thought they might enjoy a day in the back of the Flying Spur. Introducing some famous Ws to each other, so to speak.

Comic-book fans may recognize Bob's name from the scandalous Guns N' Roses "Appetite for Destruction" cover, or his work in the '70s with Zap Comix—which also published R. Crumb. Before that, both Bob and Suzanne worked for Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, drawing monsters in muscle cars and laying out catalogs and magazines for custom-car fanatics. Art and cars have vied for top position in their lives as their underground scene of rat rods and cartoons became mainstream in the highbrow world of fine art. In the '90s the Williamses founded Juxtapoz magazine, which began as a pushback against the art publications that often ignored any work that didn't fit within the strict lines of the latest collector trends.

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Bob in particular is famous in car circles for his counterculture oil paintings of cowboys and drag-racing roadsters, but Suzanne is just as interested in high-performance machines. Together they have a car collection ranging from a period-correct Model T to a custom-painted '32 hot rod that has graced many a magazine cover.

One might argue that of all the Bentley offerings, the Continental GT with either the W-12 or its twin-turbo V-8 might be more familiar to a crowd steeped in flatheads and street races, but I had surprised myself on a recent Bentley taste test by loving the Flying Spur Speed above the muscly GT, the beachy GTC, and the imposing Bentayga, and I was curious to see if Bob and Suzanne liked it as well.