For some time now, Bentley has been reassuring inquiring minds that its current luxury sedan, the Arnage, would soldier on in the old-money market until 2013. But now we learn that its end will come much sooner.
What the replacement steamer will be—and what it will be called—Bentley will most likely reveal at the concours d’élégance in Pebble Beach in mid-August. Meantime, the Arnage has already entered its “final series” stage, with the last 150 cruisers currently selling down, a formidable task in these times.
The Arnage sprung to life in 1998 as a sister model to the discontinued Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph. Both models were developed in the ’90s after BMW purchased the iconic British automaker.
Before VW took command of Bentley and BMW got the Rolls franchise, both marques had been made by Rolls-Royce. Soon thereafter, VW managed to transfer the old Rolls-Royce/Bentley 6.8-liter V-8 (which dates to 1959) from the Bentley Turbo R and Continental R into the Arnage. The Arnage with the BMW-sourced, turbocharged 4.4-liter V-8 became the Green Label, while the big engine gave the Arnage the Red Label badging. Green Label sales slowed to a trickle, and VW eventually put it out to pasture.
What we will see at Pebble Beach is the long-awaited new flagship that will replace the big, formal Arnage. Provisionally dubbed the “Grand Bentley” (it’s also called “Project Kimberly”), the new model will stand on its own dedicated platform because stretching an existing Volkswagen Group platform wouldn’t do.
While the concept car will arrive in California powered by the old, twin-turbo 6.8-liter unit, the powertrain will be overhauled for the production model. The 6.8-liter V-8 will be updated and heavily redesigned to conform to EU5 and EU6 emission regulations as well as North American rules—according to a source, only the turbochargers will carry over. Power should be in excess of 600 horses, and that should allow the Bentley to easily outrun its rival, the naturally aspirated, 453-hp V-12–powered Rolls-Royce Phantom.
The Bentley’s body and structure will be unique, but we expect the rest of the car to use more than a few components from the VW Group’s premium parts bin, including the electronic architecture and various drivetrain components.
The car’s body, with its classic upright grille crowned by a hood ornament, reveals a conservative approach. Some early proposals had a sloping, sporty grille similar to the Continental GT and Flying Spur models’. But Bentley doesn’t want to take many styling risks. The Arnage replacement will have a rather “fast” roof, however, with a sloping, aerodynamic line and a short trunklid.
The new luxury car should go on sale some time next summer. With the Arnage on its way out and the economy on the ropes, it can’t hurt to get the buzz going early.
Sliding Sales
Bentley’s sales, like those of all luxury brands, have taken a serious hit since we entered the economic stall in which we’re currently mired. The graphs below demonstrate how bad it is. But as recently as 2003, before the launch of the Continental line, Bentley was selling only about 1000 cars per year. Even at the current annual pace of nearly 4400 sales worldwide, Bentley will still sell four times as many cars as it did in 2003 and more than four times as many cars as rival Rolls-Royce. Replacing the long-in-the-tooth Arnage should allow Bentley to maintain and possibly grow its lead over the competition.
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