Classic Car Weekly (UK)

CHEAP BENTLEYS CORNERED

As the T1/T2 market hardens, the Arnage Green Label the new entry-level Bentley – but not for long

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How do you put a price on luxury, particular­ly when it’s one of the best-known of British car makers? Not a lot, judging by the prices Bentley Arnages are currently making in auctions.

Some might argue the Arnage is, well, just a bit too modern, but look at it as the last model designed and slipped into production before Rolls-Royce/Bentley parent Vickers decided to call it a day (which was followed by the much-criticised BMW/VW carve-up) and the Arnage has history firmly behind it.

And, unlike the Continenta­l GT that soon followed, there’s something pleasingly old-fashioned about the Arnage, but in a way that successful­ly employed then up-to-the minute technology to woo buyers perhaps a little jaded by its Silver Spirit-derived Turbo/Turbo R predecesso­rs. It’s the earlier, pre-2000 cars that are nosing into classic sales, although later models still make appearance­s.

While on the drawing board Bentley parent Vickers decided new engines were the order of the day, primarily to replace the ageing 6.75-litre V8 that dated back to the S2. Eventually the company settled on using BMW engines, with a 4.4-litre V8 for the Bentley and a V12 for its Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph sibling.

But such was the complexity over the BMW- and Volkswagen­contested sale of Bentley and Rolls-Royce, new Bentley parent VW, fearing the supply of V8s would be curtailed, hurriedly re-worked the old 6.75-litre V8 to slip into the Arnage’s engine bay.

Ultimately, BMW continued to supply the 4.4-litre V8 and with two engines offered, the model was rebranded as Arnage Red Label for the bigger-engined car, Green Label for the smaller.

These earlier cars, later updated as the long-wheelbase RL, the Arnage R (effectivel­y an updated Red Label) and the Arnage T, where there was a clearly defined hierarchy, make hiding-in-plainsight first-class buys, and the smaller-engined model especially so due to its lower running costs.

If proof was needed in Historics’ most recent sale (see review) a 1998 Green Label sold for £10,640.

 ??  ?? Bentley Arnage Green Labels have fallen below the magic £15,000 barrier – but they won’t be this cheap forever.
Bentley Arnage Green Labels have fallen below the magic £15,000 barrier – but they won’t be this cheap forever.

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