Bentley buffs ancient Arnage
Newswheel staff :: 31 August 2006 :: Filed under Saloon, Bentley, Bentley Arnage, Europe & UK, US
[Click on an image to view]
500bhp pushrod cruiser
With the Conti GT-based Flying Spur grabbing all the headlines, it’s easy to forget about the tiring Arnage saloon. But Bentley hasn’t. The old girl soldiers on thanks to a range of upgrades for 2007…
The Bentley Arnage T: The undisputed world heavyweight champ of rear overhangs. (Click for the bigger picture)
First on the list is the Arnage’s antediluvian 6.75-litre pushrod V8. First seen in the 1959 Bentley S2, this ancient lump has once again been tweaked to deliver thoroughly modern outputs of 500bhp and 738lb/ft, largely courtesy of a pair of new low-inertia Mitsubishi turbos. Factor in a colossal kerb weight of 2,585kg and the net result is a power-to-weight ratio of 193bhp per tonne – not a million miles away from 911 territory. Headline performance numbers are 5.2 clicks to 60 and 179mph all out. That’s impressive for a 5.4m limo.
Other detail improvements include a new six-speed slushbox and the odd updated styling cue. Of course, the panelling is essentially carried over from the 2004 facelift (with much of the car remaining as per the original Arnage circa 1998). So, depending on your point of view, it’s either a rather dated, chitzy lash up with iffy bumpers and nasty wheels or a reassuringly an old school bruiser than cocks a snoot at voguish trends. It’s a tough car to love for looks alone.
Anywho, Autocar’s equally crusty Steve Cropley has already driven the new Arnage. “A unique combination of coachbuilt refinement and old-time, slow-hand, low-revs grunt,” is how he sees it. British brands can always rely on good old Cropley to bend over backwards and take it up… spare a kind word or two, but we’d certainly agree with his basic assertion that the Arnage is simply more special than any big Benz.
As for the sordid matter of money, if you’ve £175,500 to spare, the order books for the Arnage T are already open.
Linkage:
Autocar mag
Posted 17 January 2007, by Juliet.K
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