Bentley Arnage — BrandWiki

Bentley Arnage

Overview

Bentley Arnage

manufacturer	Bentley Motors
designer	Steve Harper under Graham Hull (1991)‡R1R‡
production	1998–2009
assembly	United Kingdom: Crewe, England (Bentley Crewe)
predecessor	Bentley Brooklands Bentley Turbo RT
successor	Bentley Mulsanne (for Arnage R/T (SWB) / Arnage R/L (EWB) and Arnage "Final Series") Bentley Flying Spur
class	Full-size luxury car (F)
body style	4-door saloon/sedan
layout	Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive
engine	4.4 L BMW M62 twin-turbo V8 (1998–2000) 6.75 L L-series turbo/twin-turbo V8 (1999–2006)‡R2R‡ 6.75 L L-series twin-turbo V8 (2006–2010)
transmission	1999–2006: 4-speed GM 4L80-E automatic 1998–2000: 5-speed ZF 5HP30 automatic 2006–2009: 6-speed ZF 6HP-26 automatic
wheelbase	3116 mm (Pre-facelift models) 3116 - 3366 mm (Post-facelift models)
length	5394 mm (Pre-facelift models) 5400 - 5640 mm (Post-facelift models)
width	1932 mm (Pre-facelift models) 1900 mm (Post-facelift models)
height	1516 mm (Pre-facelift models) 1515 mm (Post-facelift models)
weight	Green Label: 5120 lb Arnage R: 5699 lb 2007 facelift models: 2585 - 2655 kg
related	Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph Bentley Azure Bentley Brooklands Coupé Bentley State Limousine
sp	uk
model years	1999–2009

The Bentley Arnage is a full-size luxury car manufactured by Bentley Motors in Crewe, England, from 1998 to 2009. The Arnage and its Rolls-Royce-branded sibling, the Silver Seraph, were introduced in the spring of 1998. They were the first entirely new designs for the two marques since 1980.

In September 2008, Bentley announced that production of the model would end during 2009. A replacement model, the Bentley Mulsanne was launched in August 2009 at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

Development

Following an uplift in sales for all of Rolls-Royce, and a resurgence of the Bentley marque, the then-owner, Vickers, set about developing a new model to replace the derivatives of the Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit/Bentley Mulsanne which it had been selling since 1980. In a complete switch from tradition, these new cars would have engines provided by a third-party vendor, and bodies built at the Crewe factory.

Red Label and Green Label

During the takeover battle in 1998 between BMW and Volkswagen Group for ownership of Rolls-Royce and Bentley Motors, BMW had threatened to stop supply of their engines if Volkswagen Group won. While the threat was later withdrawn in conjunction with BMW acquiring the right to manufacture Rolls-Royce automobiles at a new location, it was clear that Volkswagen could not accept the business and reputation risks associated with having their rival as a long-term business partner.[3] Furthermore, customers were uncertain about engine and part availability (of which there turned out to be no issue) and orders for new cars dropped precipitously.[4]

Volkswagen's response was to adapt the drivetrain from the preceding Turbo R for the Arnage body, which had been designed for the smaller and lighter BMW 32-valve V8. The 6.75 litre Rolls-Royce L410 V8 engine, coupled with a 4-speed 4L80-E automatic gearbox was extremely thirsty, and would not meet government-imposed emissions standards without hasty modifications.[3]

This version of the car was launched as the Arnage Red Label in October 1999. At the same time Bentley made several minor modifications to the BMW-engined cars, and designated them as the Arnage Green Label for the 2000 model year. Both cars received stiffer body-shells, and larger wheels and brakes. Both changes were necessitated by the larger size and weight of the older British engine.[5] Despite the larger brakes, braking performance worsened. The braking performance of the 1999 Green Label from 113–0 km/h was 172 ft while the later Arnage T's performance was 182 ft from the same speed.[6][7] Other revisions included:

The glass headlight lens covers (1998–99) were revised to plastic (2000 on).

Bentley cited customer demand as driving the reversion to the older 6.75-litre engine for the Red Label. [3] The older engine was more biased towards providing low-end torque, and customers preferred that characteristic over the higher-revving BMW engine.

The outgoing BMW-powered Arnage was technically more modern, more fuel efficient and had 32 valves with double overhead camshafts, twin-turbochargers and Bosch engine management technology – as opposed to the 16-valve single-turbocharged pushrod engine with less advanced engine management.[5] The Red Label's increase in motive power shaved less than a second of the 0 to 60 mph acceleration time. However, the BMW twin-turbocharged unit remained noticeably more agile and responsive from a driver's perspective, due to its more responsive character, better weight balance (maintaining a 51.1/48.9 weight distribution)[6] and almost 600 lb lower curb weight. Ultimately the Green Label was more reliable and significantly less expensive to service in the long term.[8][9] The key limiting factor of the BMW engine's output was the ZF 5HP30 transmission which was not rated to handle more than the 413 lbft of torque that the twin-turbocharged engine was tuned to produce.[10]

Vickers had outsourced the production of the old 6.75-litre Rolls-Royce engine for use in the contemporary Continental R and Azure models to Cosworth, so reverting to the old standby engine was a natural choice for the company.

The Red Label model boasted torque of 835 Nm with a single Garrett T4 turbocharger. This was the greatest amount of torque for a four-door car at the time.

In total only seven Arnage Green Label units were built, all of which were left-hand-drive versions. There was a final series of cars built in 2000 with the 4.4-litre BMW engine designated the Arnage Birkin, celebrating Tim Birkin of the "Bentley Boys." 52 units were produced and are distinguishable by their three-dial as opposed to five-dial instrument center dashboard configuration.

Standard Alpine pop up navigation system.
Park distance control to the front and rear.
Increased rear seat leg room (by modifying the design of the front seatbacks).
Power folding exterior mirrors.
Modifications to the steering rack to reduce steering effort at low speeds.

Model year updates

Le Mans series

In 2001, Bentley launched a limited-production Le Mans edition to celebrate the occasion of Bentley's return after 71 years to racing at Le Mans. A specially enhanced edition of the Arnage Red label, 150 copies of the Bentley Arnage Le Mans were planned to be produced, but 153 units were produced instead.

Exterior Le Mans Series Options Interior Le Mans Series Options Identification of the chassis number

The Bentley Arnage Le Mans chassis number follows the same identification as the Bentley Arnage Red label model:

Exclusive quad exhaust pipes.
Ducting vents in the front wing.
Wide wheel arches and sports bumpers.
Red brake calipers.
"Le Mans Series" badges on the front quarter panel.
5-spoke sport wheels with red brake calipers.

Unique instruments with a dark Racing Green background colour.
"Le Mans Series" lettering on the speedometer and rev counter.
Dark finished burr walnut with the Bentley wings etched in intricate detail and inlaid into the waist rails of the doors as well as into the dashboard.
Winged B motifs embroidered into the headrests of the two-tone, perforated hide upholstery.
Exclusive chrome and leather design of the gear lever.
Drilled pedals.
Unique door sill plaques.
Three unique colours: Silver Storm, Black Oriole, and Le Mans Racing Green, although any Arnage colour may have been selected.

the letter L on the fourth position,
the letter C on the fifth position, and
a number between 6341 and 8375.

Arnage LWB and RL

In 2001, the Arnage LWB (renamed the RL from MY 2003) was launched at the North American International Auto Show. A long-wheelbase model, the extra length is added to the car at both its front and rear doors (and for ~20 units its C-pillar) to maintain its proportions with the standard Arnage model. Available only as a bespoke ("Mulliner") model, each LWB/RL model is customised to the desires of the buyer. The RL would also present a credible challenge to BMW's revival of the Rolls-Royce brand with its new model, the Phantom.

Wheelbases ranged from 3336 mm (or only slightly longer than the standard Arnage) to 3566 mm,[11][12] and even 3844 mm, the latter two including a 100 mm increase in the height of the roof. The suspension was retuned for the added weight, allowing the larger car to still handle well.

RL models were available with armoured elements, reflecting the car's clientele. A full B6 package was available for $243,000 to $300,000, offering protection from assault weapons and grenades.[13]

Arnage R and T

In 2002, Bentley updated the Red Label and renamed it the Arnage R and also introduced the Arnage T. The Arnage R was the more luxurious model, while the Arnage T was meant to be more sporty. The Arnage T was claimed to be the most powerful roadgoing Bentley at its launch at the Detroit Motor Show. As with the Arnage R, there were twin-turbochargers, but the engine was tuned and rated at a higher power output of 456 PS and 875 Nm of torque. The Arnage T's 0–97 km/h (60 mph) time is 5.5 seconds and it has a claimed top speed of 170 mph. All Arnage R and T models share the same 3116 mm wheelbase.

UK State Limousine

The Bentley State Limousine is an official state car developed by Bentley Motors Limited for Queen Elizabeth II on the occasion of her Golden Jubilee in 2002. Two were built. The car's twin-turbocharged, 6.75-litre V8 engine was modified and rated at 402 PS and 835 Nm of torque.

Updates

The Arnage range was facelifted in 2005, with a new front end featuring four separate round headlights, resembling the Continental GT. The BMW switchgear used for the climate controls was replaced with new switchgear from the Bentley Azure, and the power window switch placement was changed.

For the 2007 model year, the Garrett turbochargers were replaced with low-inertia Mitsubishi units designed to improve engine response, the outdated 4-speed automatic gearbox was replaced with a 6-speed ZF 6HP26 transmission also found in the Continental GT range and the dot-matrix instrument cluster display used since 1990 was replaced with a full-color screen, also from the Azure.

Power output for the Arnage T was increased to 507 PS and 1000 Nm of torque, while the milder Arnage R was 456 PS and 875 Nm of torque. For the Arnage T, the factory stated a 0–97 km/h (60 mph) acceleration time of 5.2 seconds, and a top speed of 288 km/h.

Diamond series

Bentley marked its 60 years of production at the Crewe factory with a special Diamond Series Arnage model in 2006. 60 cars were planned, the majority for the United States, with diamond wood inlays, diamond quilted leather seats, a stainless steel front bumper, special 19 inch alloy wheels, and Union Jack badges on the front wings.

Final series

In September 2008, Bentley announced that Arnage production would cease in 2009, with a final run of 150 "Final Series" models (only 96 would be produced until production ceased) .[14]

On the exterior, the Final Series features unique 20 inch alloy wheels, a retractable 'Flying B' hood ornament, body-coloured headlamp bezels, dark tint mesh upper and lower grilles, lower front wing vents, a 'Jewel-style' fuel filler cap and special badging.

The interior, designed by Mulliner, features Final Series kick plates, drilled alloy pedals, unique chrome trim, a rear cocktail cabinet[14] and two picnic tables. The model also comes with four special umbrellas[14] and a premium 1,000 watt audio system manufactured by Naim Audio.

The model is offered with 42 exterior colour choices, 25 interior hides and three wood veneers. It could also be selected with the bespoke colour-matching offered by Bentley.

The Final Series also marked the 50th anniversary of Bentley's V8 engine. The 2009 variant of the engine was still loosely based on the same design that was introduced in the 1959 Bentley S2