1999 Bentley Arnage “Green Label”
Designed in 1998 to be "the world's most exhilarating four-door driving experience," the all-new Bentley Arnage is the first model in nearly 60 years with a powerplant uniquely developed for the marque, the first in Bentley’s 94-year history to have a body assembled "in-house" at the Crewe factory of parent company Rolls-Royce, and the last to be brought to market before Rolls and Bentley were bought by BMW.
The Arnage is the first truly new Bentley in 18 years. Its predecessors, the Brooklands R and Turbo RT, relied on a GM-derived V-8 whose origins go back much further than that (the current two-door Continental coupe remains in production). As Rolls Chief Executive Graham Morris candidly confesses, "We've not improved our standards as fast as we would have liked, but with our new products and new facilities, we have a fighting chance of re-establishing ourselves." A $260 million modernization program over the last three years has netted a new body plant, production line, and paint shop. Development of the Arnage and its more sedate sister, the new Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph, cost another $66 million. But whereas the Seraph uses a near-stock 5.4-liter BMW V-12, the Arnage's BMW-sourced 4.4-liter V-8 is so extensively reworked it wears a Bentley badge. The biggest performance gains are drawn from twin low-inertia water-cooled turbochargers, close-coupled to the exhaust manifold for maximum exhaust energy and minimum throttle lag.
Rolls-Royce and Bentley are the only cars designed to be legends crafted for royalty, purchased by rockers and coveted by villains--and historically the stuff of which all our luxury dreams are made. This is museum quality on the move. Also standouts of unhurried, elegant hand-craftsmanship in an era of planned obsolescence and instant gratification.
