 Bentley's
new Arnage T has been re-styled ever-so-subtly since its debut
in 2002.
Essentially this is still a Bentley in the classic mould -
large, even massive - elegantly sumptuous, deceptively fast,
and one of the few hand-built cars in the world.
Bentley says that there is one hundred and ten degrees of
angle between the accelerator pedal at rest and fully
depressed. And that "this is quite a
responsibility."
One drive in the Arnage T and
you will see why. The turbocharged 6,75 litre V8 engine
produces over 330 kilowatts and 875 Newton Metres of torque.
And driving the car it seems as if all that torque is
available from pull-off.
Were it not for traction control, this Bentley would be
burning rubber like a dragster at every stoplight.
The factory Crewe in England claims the Arnage T will
accelerate to 100 in just over five and a half seconds, and
run on to a maximum speed of two hundred and seventy
kilometres per hour.
Driving the car hard, one is struck by the fact that it revs
to not much over 4 000 rpm using the rather old-fashioned
four-speed automatic transmission.
The handling is a remarkable blend of wafting along on a cloud
and stamping its authority on the road surface like a
thoroughbred sports car.
Both aspects of Bentley’s heritage - luxury and sports car
competition, come across in the Arnage T
There are no two Bentley's really alike. Apparently the
options lists run to thousands of configurations and as each
car is built according to customers tastes and requirements,
each is a unique car.
Production runs to around 1 000 units world-wide for the
Arnage T, and an average price for one of these cars, a cross
between a relic and a masterpiece, is about three and a half
million rand.
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