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Bentley Arnage Overview
The Bentley Arnage was the last vehicle designed during
the Vickers era of Bentley ownership. It arrived late in
1998, powered by a twin-turbo BMW V-8 engine, and was named after
a corner in the famous Le Mans race course. The traditional
Rolls-Royce 6.75-liter V-8 returned for 2000, and a
long-wheelbase model soon followed (but with only miniscule
sales). The car shared its chassis with the Rolls-Royce
Silver Seraph, a car which it far out-lived. The Arnage was
facelifted and re-engineered several times, but the platform
remained the same throughout the nameplate's 11-year life. As
hyper-luxury sedans moved even further upmarket, the Arnage became
more anachronistic: it was far more upscale than an S-Class
Mercedes (albeit not as cutting-edge), but not as far up-market
as the Rolls-Royce Phantom or Maybach 57/62. Bentley remedied
this by replacing the Arnage with the more expensive Mulsanne in
2010. Offered in two sizes (R and RL) in the USA, the Arnage
was offered in other markets as the Arnage Limousine (stretched
17.7" in the rear door and C-pillar), and the Bentley Mulliner
Arnage Limousine (also called Arnage RL 728), which was stretched
by a jaw-dropping 28.7 inches, complete with divider and jump seats.
The Arnage was built at Bentley's Crewe factory, in Cheshire, United
Kingdom.
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