Limited-run Bentley Arnage limo launches
Bentley produces "world's most exclusive limousine"
Bentley Motors has confirmed that it will put its Arnage Limousine concept into production. Created by its Mulliner coachbuilding division for the 2004 Geneva International Salon, Bentley says that demand exists for 20 individually numbered, bespoke Arnage Limousines "for customers looking to own a truly luxurious car that provides extraordinary levels of comfort and craftsmanship as well as valuable privacy."
In the same spirit as the coachbuilt Bentleys of the 1920s and '30s, customers will be able to commission a car to their own specification, and create a unique statement that will be valued in the future. Like the spectacular Speed Six and 8-litre Bentleys that wowed the motoring world in their Roaring Twenties heyday, the Arnage Limousine will represent the pinnacle of handbuilt, individually crafted luxury cars. "Nothing can come close to its unique qualities, nothing will match its rarity and value", says Bentley.
Massive choice
Unlike other limousine builders, whose customers are forced to choose from a limited list of options and specifications, Bentley Mulliner provides bespoke answers to any question a Bentley customer chooses to ask.
Trading on its heritage, Bentley says the process of ordering and owning an Arnage Limousine will entail the same degree of creativity and attention to detail as in its 1920s heyday. "It is this unique service which makes an extended wheelbase Arnage the limousine of choice for those looking to create a car unlike any other", says Bentley.
At the start of the process, customers will be offered a 'blank canvas' by Bentley Mulliner on which to express a vision of their ideal, bespoke car. Each customer will be able to communicate directly with the factory through their personal account manager, while a Bentley Mulliner designer will visit their home or office during the pre-production phase to assess the prospective design criteria and assist in interpreting their requirements for such a highly specified car.
By starting with this 'blank canvas', Arnage Limousine customers will be able to choose between palatial interiors or fully-integrated mobile offices. The scope for personalisation is as wide as the customer's imagination and whilst the concept is still in the virtual world of computer-aided design, styling sketches and renderings, Bentley Mulliner can be as flexible and creative as that vision demands.
Following delivery, customers will be visited on an annual basis by a factory representative, who will undertake a full inspection of their car. This service is offered for the duration of the Arnage Limousine's warranty. Extended cabin means total luxury, complete privacy
Privacy
The Arnage Limousine is designed for those who value their privacy and are not prepared to compromise when on the road. By widening the 'D'-pillar behind the rear doors, the Arnage Limousine's designers have fashioned a deeply recessed seat area that provides a safe and shielding cabin for passengers, as well as significantly enhanced rear legroom. In addition, a smaller rear 'privacy' window adds to the feeling of seclusion and ensures back-seat passengers are kept well away from prying eyes.
To create that broad 'D'-pillar and enlarged interior, the Arnage Limousine has been designed with a generous wheelbase measuring a total of 3.56m -- longer than the RL's 3.36m (above). An extra 200mm is located in the 'D'-pillar, with a further 200mm added to the rear doors and 50mm in the front doors, a process carried out entirely by hand.
According to Ashley Wickham, head of projects, Bentley Mulliner, "The Arnage Limousine is the epitome of Mulliner craftsmanship. Everything you can see - from the beautiful line of the new D-pillar to the stainless steel sills - was shaped by hand. That's why a Mulliner-built Bentley can take up to 6,000 man hours to complete. It is a labour of love."
To emphasise Bentley Mulliner's desire to start with a blank canvas for its customers, the interior of the Arnage Limousine shown at Geneva has been kept deliberately restrained. A classic combination of linen and burgundy hide is mixed with a dark burr walnut veneer, the effect being to produce a cabin that is light, spacious and open to interpretation as customers see fit.
Interior technology
Although customers will start with a blank canvas, 'Number One' in the limited run of Arnage Limousines does have certain special features designed to illustrate just what Bentley Mulliner can offer. Split rear seats will come as standard but in the concept car these have been replaced with a broad, rear bench "that provides an inviting and sumptuous place to relax, while optional electrically-powered rear foot rests that slide backwards and upwards to support your calves allow passengers to recline in total comfort." A rear DVD entertainment system is fitted, with twin 12-inch screens mounted in the rear of the front seats.
With the emphasis on choice, the entertainment and communications technology can take the form of individual LCD televisions or a single wide- screen plasma unit that can be stowed from view when not required. The rear compartment can be provided with options such as an on-board computer with Internet access, a cooled refreshment cabinet or cigar humidor.
Dynamics
The Limousine gets all the modifications announced for the 2005 model year, including the revised front end design introduced to lend Arnage an even stronger visual identity within the Bentley model line-up. Twin individual headlights reflect the styling direction evolved for the Continental GT Coupe and the bonnet line is raised to give a more purposeful appearance.
The Arnage's interior centre console is also completely revised with new, unique switchgear for the air-conditioning controls and repositioned switches for the electric windows and seat and mirror adjusters. The satellite navigation system is re-engineered to give a more integrated, attractive appearance on top of the dashboard.
Bentley's renowned 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine provides the Arnage Limousine with the sort of performance you would expect from any of our cars.
It offers 400bhp and chunky low-down torque of 616lb ft giving the Arnage a 0-60mph of 6.7 seconds. The V8 also meets stringent Euro IV and US LEV emissions standards.
The Arnage Limousine's chassis is based upon the Arnage's underpinnings, with strengthening where required. Double wishbone independent front and rear suspension with uprated springs and reinforced subframes works in unison with the computer-controlled adaptive electro-hydraulic damping system (ARC) to provide a refined ride at all times and high levels of grip when needed. Uprated 8-cylinder front and 4-cylinder rear brake callipers operating on ventilated alloy brake discs produce awesome stopping power time and again.
Armour-plating
To ensure complete security on top of unparalleled privacy, the Arnage Limousine may be specified with armour protection. When armouring is specified, it is the first, and not the last task to be performed upon the bare bodyshell.
This brings several advantages. It allows the whole body shell including armour to benefit from comprehensive anti-corrosion protection and paint top-coats. It ensures engineering integrity, allowing armour and energy absorbing materials to be placed precisely where needed for optimum protection. It enables weight to be distributed in a way that makes the least effect upon handling and ride; and above all, it ensures that the protection is discreet and, to the casual observer, all but invisible. As the armour protection is an integral part of the car, the full range of Bentley interior features and options can also be specified without restriction.
Production of the Bentley Arnage Limousine begins in February 2005 and prices start at £270,000.
Another £110k over the standard car for 20cm extra legroom and a smaller rear window....... The later RLs and the beloved old RT were as standard, huge great stretchers.
Not P.Diddy limo trash, be assured, just resolutely not the knees under chin horror story the bosch fed everyone with the Arnage 7 series concoction.
It's all down to shouting.
The state should intervene: this was last Bentley into which the engine builder was sacrificed just before delivery to the customer and the body parts liberally sprinkled about the interior.
The sound of the door 'thunking' home, the acres of finest woodland and depth of melted lambswool.
I should ditch the M5 and rejoin the legions of Avalon but frankly, so should any right minded runner of half decent eurobox ubiquity.
Alas, the message conveyed by such fabulous, British engineering is all too misconstrued by the armies of ignorantes.
Such a shame for these cars have all the well bred savvy of a nice Aston and yet unlike the progeny of DB, they somehow just don't 'get away' with it.
www.baynards.com/htm/6item.htm#start
Several more around at the moment at £35K-£37K.
ian d said:Indeed,
never mind RT's, the Continental R is now coming into the "possible" bracket.......that is a Bentley in the old tradition, with presence, the Mk VI may have to be changed.
when my father chopped in his old Bentley for the Brooklands he now has, the scheming bastards at the garage kept turning up chez Thomas in a lovely Conti R, just to wave it under his nose, so to speak. A firm but polite reminder that it was my inheritance he was blowing soon put him on the straight and narrow
GregE240 said:
never mind RT's, the Continental R is now coming into the "possible" bracket.......that is a Bentley in the old tradition, with presence, the Mk VI may have to be changed.
A firm but polite reminder that it was my inheritance he was blowing soon put him on the straight and narrow
When does he take delivery?
DAZ
dazren said:Cheeky sod. Hes looking into buying the plate GT05 CON. Thats scared me a bit....
ian d said:
never mind RT's, the Continental R is now coming into the "possible" bracket.......that is a Bentley in the old tradition, with presence, the Mk VI may have to be changed.
A firm but polite reminder that it was my inheritance he was blowing soon put him on the straight and narrow
When does he take delivery?
DAZ
ian d said:
Never mind RT's, the Continental R is now coming into the "possible" bracket.......that is a Bentley in the old tradition, with presence, the Mk VI may have to be changed.
Have to take issue with this, old boy: the Continentals never developed the dashboard to the extent we saw in the RT, for me, the ultimate manifestion of tradition with a more finished, logical expression of ergonomic luxuriance.
Booting a Conti T along the back roads near the factory a couple of years ago, it felt like a late 80s/early 90s model, to wit, a rather 'lazy' aspect of design about these otherwise, externally glorious behemoths.
(Yes, if you must, it has to be a T...)
i can picture it now, the N138, mid June, utilising the available horses, casting aside TVRs and those red Italian cars in the bow wave of a legendary Bentley....
oh i just woke up, well it is Xmas.
ian d said:
I can picture it now, the N138, mid June, utilising the available horses, casting aside TVRs and those red Italian cars in the bow wave of a legendary Bentley...
I'm not so sure you'd be dispatching Tivvers but it's the thought that counts!
What could surpass the parting of a misty morning ground haze with the spearing bonnet of Aelric, the scattering of field workers and groan of twisting iron?
Well, an impromptu fumble with Heather Locklear, for one but I suspect very little else.
Hail to thee.
i was very impressed with the lift from such a big car and the cornering ability with the active ride, very different from the Mk VI, too fast and you're sideways into a ditch.
i'm still toying with the idea of a Brooklands but i still like the Mk VI, grace rather than pace. i've now had it for a while and been all over europe with it, i'd probably find it difficult to part with it.
ian d said:
I still like the Mk VI, grace rather than pace. i've now had it for a while and been all over europe with it, i'd probably find it difficult to part with it.
Never ever sell a MKVI, I have met so many people who regret having done so, myself included. I actually blubbed when it was driven away by its new owner.
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