The new model will be based off a heavily revised version of Audi’s modular platform used for a host of models ranging from the A4 sedan up to the next A8 flagship. However, the Arnage will feature its own unique powertrain and will be strictly RWD. There are rumors Bentley may introduce a new diesel engine in the next Arnage range but the engine option is most likely to be a petrol unit.
Bentley also has a number of options in the Volkswagen Group parts bin, including both V10 and V12 units, and we could also see a new seven-speed dual clutch gearbox appear in the new model. A high-performance Arnage T is also in the works but don’t expect it to feature the Bugatti Veyron’s W16 engine as previously rumored.
Below you'll find spy images of an Arnage prototype, revealing a number of important clues about the future model. The extra-wide B-pillar indicates a longer wheelbase for the 2010 model and a slightly wider track should ensure a more dynamic drive than the current car.
Reader Comments
Mon Apr 21 2008 12:21 PM
chris says
it's a shame, I've like to see these big boats that sell for huge sums of money to go the route of the lightning or fisker: hybrid, and more electric than mechanical.
what in gods name are you getting for this sum of money but a road going battle ship anyways? eats up a bunch of gas, needs 3 spotters in order to park, needs a tug boat if it breaks down, and is designed for an operating life of 40 years.
I know people in this category arent exactly concerned with "bang for the buck" but if i were spending this much money on a car that ISNT intended to give me whiplash, then I'd expect more from the drive train than just "heres a massive engine to push your massive car".
wasn't bentley the one that said they would reduce their emissions by 40% or something stupid like that? huge weight reductions, more efficient engines.. etc.
THIS is where the technology of the future should be coming from. these guys. dont sell me a 300k car that has a hood ornament that retracts. give me something useful.
dont sell me on an ultra smooth and quiet V12. Electric drive will be INFINITELY quieter AND smoother.
Tue Apr 22 2008 4:59 AM
DaveDav says
You're right Bentley did say they would cut emmisions and get like 45mpg or something by 2012....off on the right track then.
It will be good to move away from the 6.75 V8 though that drinks fuel for breakfast,,,wouldn't be suprised to see the GT's engine in this although with more torques and less speed
Tue Apr 22 2008 8:23 AM
Alan says
I don't think people who are in the market for a Bentley cares about fuel economy or cost at all, otherwise they've gone and bought a hybrid. Bentley has always being excessive. Huge, heavy, big engined, powerful... etc. Buagtti himself one said Bentley is the fastest lorry in the world
Thu Apr 24 2008 12:51 PM
chris says
alan; I can assure you that if I had this kind of money, I'd have to shoot myself for wasting so much money on such an ordinary (and ugly) car.
its not about fuel economy or cost. its about value and technology, and actually getting what you pay for. there's no more technology in one of these than there is in a ford taurus. just an extra tonne of engine and sheet metal. so whats the point?
everyone says "theyre smooth and luxurious"... sure... thats why i bring up the plug in gasoline electric hybrid from fisker. its a huge coach, just like this,.. but it looks HOT, and it goes 100 miles on a single charge, before it even turns on the motor. whats more luxurious than a car that has no engine making noise and vibrations?
nothing.
Thu Apr 24 2008 1:50 PM
Ink Master says
Well I've always been giving the Arnage the benefit of the doubt, but after seeing one on the road yesterday... well.. hahahahahaa - it looks like a freakin shoebox, I mean comethehellon, seriously? thats what people are paying for? a shoebox with a wood interior? I seriously doubt that its any more comfortable then a 7 Series or an S Cass so I guess all their paying for is a emblem on the front and the back...
fools
Fri Apr 25 2008 8:46 AM
Alan says
Chris, i beg to differ though. Part of the appeal of Bentley surely must be some sportiness and some engine noise. Engine noise are very meticulously tuned these days. If luxury buyers just want quietness, then they can always get a Lexus LS460. Instead, they want a special experience, and a brand full of heritage
Fri Apr 25 2008 11:11 AM
chris says
I don't know.. its all rediculous to me. for that price you could encourage technological advancement, and fit a stellar custom audio setup that will make you think there's a low rumbly engine up front.
see my harsh criticism for these guys is well founded: i want to see them survive through the next 40 years. a brand like this where people would pay that much just to know it was made by a certain company... well thats the situation that you have to take advantage of.
it's like my suggestions for bugatti's next model. make it a marvel of engineering at the FUNDIMENTAL LEVEL. I dont want a V10 monster on a barge, even if it is done impeccably. I'm sure it's impressive. but what else in this world will make you (and everyone around you) go "wow" than a car that moves unlike any other car.
Sun Apr 27 2008 5:58 AM
Dave says
You have all missed the point! There is ZERO sense of occasion in a Lexus or electric car. Quiet and no noise = dull and boring! BMW once said it could build a silent car , no problem , but people want to hear turbines , sounds , engineering excellence. Bentley is pursuing both hybrid and renewable fuel technology however the planet is in danger from CHEAP cars NOT Expensive ones! The amount of Bentley cars on the road is negligible compared to the thousands and thousands of disposable Hondas and Toyotas and what about the hundreds of thousands of parts miles delivering to these so called "hybrid" and "green" Manufacturers. Bentley produce in a small factory in England , not across vast sites on EVERY continent and their production volumes peak in the second year unlike others that rise and rise and rise.GTC 40% Less this year, GT 35% Less.
Think a bit more boys!!
Sun Apr 27 2008 7:10 PM
exess says
you're right chris, you dont know and you dont get it. So go hug another tree.
Mon Oct 13 2008 10:06 AM
True old money says
I have something to tell you FROM EXPERIENCE!!! I'm not here to brag about my family's wealth (which, by the way, goes back 9 generations), I'm here to tell you why this car is so apealing.
- TRADITION. Bentley is more less the only auto maker that has stayed true to its original purpose (they even curved the grill of the Phantom Coupe). The V8 6.75 liter engine the Arnage uses has been used by Bentleys and Rolls-Royces for the las 50 years. You can simply feel that as soon as you go in.
- You DO NOT get the same comfort as in the 7 series or S-Class.
- It IS NOT ugly. It DOES NOT resemble a shoe box. It has the most elegant exterior and most comfortable interior of all cars.
- Most of its competitors and the class below are the status symbols of new money, criminals and pitifull stars (there are more hip-hop moguls driving Rolls-Royces then there are aristocrats).
- As far as fuel economy and polution are conserned, it is not the best, but it's not a car you drive every day. My father usualy drives a Lexus LS460h (the Bentley is as quiet and smoother) and I drive a Mini Cooper. The Bentleys we have have only been driven a couple thousand miles (2007 Arnage-12.000miles, 2003 Arnage 28.000 miles and 2006 Continental GT- 8000miles, Brooklands- haven't been delivered yet but will be driven once a month). It's just a car to show everyone that you are a true gentleman with inpecable taste.
I do not undermind new technology, but good old-fashioned worksmanship deserves a lot of respect. You cannot compare Fisker to Bentley. Its like saying that Kosovo or South Aphasia are historically more significent than England.
Hope this changes your view of the Bentley Arnage.
Mon Nov 10 2008 5:25 AM
Suggs says
Comparing a Bentley to a 7 series or S-class is pointless - yes they are all large 4 door saloons but thats pretty much where the story ends.
To me BMW and Merc are missing 1 important thing SOUL they are put together in factories in a mass produced way that is clinical and totally devoid of any real feeling. Whereas Bentleys are built in small numbers by comparison by hand by craftsmen that are probably 3rd or 4th generation of the same family. I mean it takes longer to make just the dashboard for the old Arnarge T than it does to put together a normal 5 door family runabout such as a Focus or golf.
YES in the real world a bentley is not what you could call cheap, enbironmentally friendly or even small but THATS THE WHOLE POINT. Its manufacturers such as bentley that help to provide the antithesis to the identikit clone eurobox cars that litter roads today by sticking 2 fingers up at the PC nanny state brigade
Give me 2 hours in a bentley thrashing it round a track or a country lane over the monotony of driving a repmobile up and down a motorway anytime. And as a bentley is so large in event of an accident there is always at least 10 feet between the collision and the passengers.
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