Alternate reality: the Bentley Continental Flying Spur is pure luxury with a price tag to prove it. How could it not bring out a little schadenfreude?

Whether you drive it, ride in it, or just stare at it, the Bentley Continental Flying Spur is the automotive equivalent of the person you wish you were. For the two days I drove one, that vaguely involved a young prince, a cricket match, and words spelled according to British usage such as colour.

The car is nothing if not blue-blooded. In 1957, Bentley's first Flying Spur was inspired by the fastest four-seater in the world the iconic 1952 R-Type Continental coupe--and bankrolled by Rolls-Royce.

Today's version is patterned after the two-door Continental GT, and the company is run under the auspices of Volkswagen, but the car retains all of its good genetics. The Flying Spur sports a twin-turbo-charged, 12-cylinder, 552-horsepower engine capable of reaching speeds greater than 190 mph. Maximum torque is available at a mere 1,600 rpm, and the power stays smooth and consistent throughout the engine's rpm range. Zero to 60 takes less than five seconds.

Mated to an advanced six-speed transmission, the all-wheel-drive Flying Spur is powered by steering column-mounted shift paddles that stay still as the steering wheel turns. That's different from the gearshift you'll find in the BMW M6, for instance, and far less confusing for anyone who isn't a Formula One driver.

Meticulously crafted, this saloon car is packed with a suite of standard technologies: DVD navigation, a 12-speaker sound system, four-zone climate control, and dusk-sensing headlamps. Power latches seal the doors. Amenities such as an integrated Bluetooth mobile phone and climate and seat adjustments are packaged in a $7,500 center console that extends from the front to the rear of a passenger cabin harmoniously designed in leather and wood veneer. Be sure to call shotgun: Front seats offer gentle lumbar massage.

But the real ride is in the backseat. The Flying Spur is meant to be chauffeured, and to prove it, there's enough legroom to lounge and trunk space to overpack. In fact, from the outside it's hard to imagine how a car so spacious hides it so well. I suppose that's the kind of proportions $200,000 buys you.

What that kind of coin won't get you: freedom from mechanical meltdown. On my third day with the Flying Spur, with just over 200 miles on the odometer, I walked out to find the stereo on and one of the rear headrests endlessly adjusting itself. It was delightfully horrifying, as if I had just caught my rich uncle dancing the cha-cha in the kitchen at 7 A.M.

When I turned on the ignition, the radio turned off, then back on, then off and on. The folks at the fleet management company, A&M Automotive, swore that this kind of mishap was extremely rare, and I'm inclined to believe them. Every car packed with technology is likely to face a computer glitch eventually. Think of it as a dose of reality.