All Bentley Arnage reviews

"The Arnage range retains much of the look and feel of the previous model but has been lovingly polished in a few key areas"

In all of the press fanfare surrounding the Bentley Continental GT, it was easy to overlook the Arnage range, to write it off as some sort of charming anachronism. Bentley are keen to stress that this couldn't be further from the truth and the latest round of revisions have served to bring the model if not bang up to date then at least within an artillery barrage of it.

In keeping with the rest of the Bentley range, the Arnage now gets clear lensed headlamps trimmed with chrome bezels. The indicators are integrated into the light unit which features a halogen bulb for main beam and xenon for dipped. The bonnet has been given a more aggressive ridge up the centreline and a choice of front grilles is also offered. The standard fit item is a matrix-style grille although those looking for a more classic look can opt for a grille with longitudinal parallel vanes. A redesigned set of wheels is also offered and the paintwork, long a totem of Bentley excellence, now encompasses a far wider range of standard colours. Such is the scope for individuality with Bentley models that customers very often specify their own hues. Nevertheless, a choice of 40 colours is now available 'off the shelf' whereas 22 were offered before. Likewise the number of hide options for the interior has virtually doubled, from 15 to 27, ten of which are creams and browns, by far the most popular choices for Bentley cabins. There are also five greys, four blues and greens, three reds and a single black colour. The Arnage fascia has been revised with clearer and more attractive controls for the climate control and ventilation systems. Switches for the electric windows are now more intuitively located while a sliding panel behind the gear lever conceals the controls for the electric seats. Similarly hidden are the stereo, ashtray and other minor ventilation controls and with the wood panels set in place the interior looks far cleaner than ever before. A revised top to the fascia allows the DVD-based satellite navigation system to sit flush with the line of the dashboard. You may not have thought it possible, but Bentley has also worked on improving ride quality, especially for back seat passengers. In the Arnage R and long-wheelbase RL models, rolling comfort has been improved by dint of revised rear suspension geometry, changes to spring, damper and bush rates and the adoption of specially developed Pirelli P-Zero Rosso tyres. The engines for the Arnage range have seen little change, the only key development being compliance with Euro IV emissions regulations. Prices have crept up a little with the Arnage R pitched at £160,000 and the Arnage T priced at £170,000.

The Arnage T in particular feels like a genuine force of nature. Bentley claims it's the 'fastest standard production saloon in the world and the most powerful road going Bentley yet built'. Looking back at some of the behemoths that have rolled out of Crewe in recent years, the Arnage T promises to be something quite extraordinary. And so it proves. The torque figure of 645lb/ft of torque is higher than any other car in series production, working out at a staggering 875Nm if you prefer new money. That's more than three times as much muscle as a Honda NSX, more than twice as much as an Audi S8 and enough to dwarf even that of a McLaren F1. With 450bhp to call upon provided by not one but two Garrett T3 turbochargers, the Arnage T still manages a better power to weight ratio than a Lotus Elise and 60mph is a mere 5.5 seconds away should you need to effect a brisk exit. Although the figures may be impressive, nothing prepares you for the moment you drop behind the wheel. Virtually everything is extravagantly, voluptuously overengineered. The turned aluminium fascia and door inserts of the test car were beautifully finished, as was the pleated hidework on the doors and seats. You find yourself dipping switches and twisting exquisitely knurled knobs just to feel the sheer oily quality of their motion. Such is the overwhelming sense of haptic surprise and delight that merely operating the big Bentley becomes a pleasure in itself. Driving it is another story. The breathy sigh of the turbochargers and the muted howl of the engine are a prelude to the most astonishing surge of power, the prow rising slightly like a Riva speedboat as the scenery explodes through the windscreen, the behemoth tyres creating a muted thump as they traverse surface imperfections. The power feels more relentless, if slightly less explosive than of old, with a broader flatter serving of that prodigious torque. The steering at first feels disconcertingly light, but work with it and you'll find that turn in is surprisingly sharp. Although the current Arnage seems agreeably classic in its appeal, beneath the skin lies some resolutely modern electronics. Whereas older cars made do with a relatively crude traction control system, the sheer quantity of physics on the move at any one time dictate that a modern stability control system is an absolute must. The Arnage comes up trumps here, the whole engine management being governed by state of the art Bosch electronics allied to their superb Electronic Stability Programme (ESP). This detects tyre slip at the moment it occurs, throttling back the engine and nipping at individual brake calipers to restore stability to the driver. The engine block, cylinder heads and exhaust manifolds were also thoroughly redesigned for smoother responses and lowered emissions. Bentley are past masters at knowing which parts of their cars need revision and which don't. The Arnage range retains much of the look and feel of the previous model but has been lovingly polished in a few key areas so as to prevent it lapsing into anachronism. If it's a sense of occasion you crave, nothing even gets close.