BENTLEY ARNAGE
It’s 20 years since the big Arnage made its debut and while some are still depreciating gently, there are bargains out there to be enjoyed for well under £20k
Few luxury models are as costly as a Bentley in the new-car market. But the bigger they are, the harder they fall, and these products from Crewe can represent nothing less than spectacular value as modern classics. However, while the T- Series was criminally cheap for years, and Turbo Rs continue to be so, values of really good Arnages are already on the rise less than a decade after it went out of production.
The Arnage debuted in June 1998 with a 350bhp twin-turbo BMW 4.4-litre V8; a year later the classic 400bhp 6.75-litre pushrod V8 joined the range. At a stroke the Arnage went from being a good car to a great one; the BMW-engined model became known as the Green Label while the 6.75-litre model was the Red Label. With a massive 619lb ft on tap, this engine has 58 per cent more torque than the 4.4-litre, so it’s no wonder that the latter engine quickly fell out of favour. Revisions in 2000 brought better rear seat space, standard sat-nav, speedsensitive power steering, clear indicator lenses and 18inch wheels. The Green Label faded away unceremoniously in 2000. The next year a Le Mans special edition arrived, distinguishable visually by its quad exhaust pipes, vents in the front wings, flared wheelarches, beefier bumpers and red brake calipers.
A long-wheelbase Red Label appeared in 2002 and was quickly followed by the twin-turbo Arnage T and Arnage R; the former is an updated Red Label while the 450bhp Arnage T is capable of 168mph, making it (then) the fastest Bentley ever. The 2003-on Arnage RL married the long-wheelbase body with the Arnage T’s powertrain, then in 2006 the V8 was enlarged to 6761cc with the power jumping by 50bhp. The run-out Arnage Final Series went on sale in September 2008 with just 96 cars made, each with a 500bhp Arnage T powertrain – which could also develop a faintly ridiculous 737lb ft of torque.
‘The twinturbo 450bhp Arnage T was the fastest-ever Bentley’