Quentin Willson
reckons now’s the time to buy a Bentley. Or if you’re feeling even more eclectic, a rarified Bristol
How does £18k for a 170mph, lowmileage, continuously maindealer-serviced classic Bentley sound? I’ll have three, thank you. At the same December 2020 H&H sale that dispatched the cheap Britannia across the page, a lovely 2002 Bentley Arnage T found a delighted new owner for just £18,000 – including buyer’s premium.
And it was a lovely old thing. Looking very fresh in Silver Tempest with black leather, it had covered 52,000 miles in the hands of only two owners – the last who’d kept it 15 years – and came with a service book containing seven posh Bentley Birmingham stamps. Everything about the car was absolutely right. The twin-turbo, 459bhp T can dispatch 60mph in 5.5 seconds and run to 170 and, as the one-time world’s fastest four-door saloon, was always an instant classic – so you’d think it would’ve made more. Trouble was, back at the end of last year there was a bit of traffic jam of Arnage Ts up for auction. In December Historics sold a lovely dark blue facelifted 2004 with 34,000 miles for £38,488 while Brightwells had a 2003 with 36,000 miles that didn’t sell – even with an estimate of £23k to £26k. In November Morris Leslie knocked down a Moroccan Blue 2001 with a warranted 33k and full Bentley history for a premiuminclusive £16,750. Prices have been fading as buyers are tempted away by similarly priced Conti GTS and Flying Spurs (I mentioned the competing draw of modern Bentleys last month) but if you can afford the upkeep, which is never going to be cheap, a lowmileage, fully historied Arnage T is a really reasonably priced iconic super-saloon.
We may even have reached a price plateau situation now and I’d be surprised to see nice, historied cars getting much cheaper than mid-teens. Sure, the 200mph Conti GT is ultimately faster at the top end but the Arnage T with its machine-turned alloy dash and door tops has a much greater sense of occasion. And with just 2537 built, feels properly exclusive too.
‘In late 2020 there was a traffic jam of Arnage Ts up for auction’