Bentley Arnage 2008 News

The first part of the show is the release of a shadowy shot of the new super-limo's grille and front end. The new car — tagged the Grand Bentley for the pre-launch campaign — is only the fifth all-new four-door limousine in the company's 90-year history and will sit at the very top of the iconic luxury marque's range aimed directly at traditional rival Rolls-Royce. "This is the all-new Grand Bentley ... this will be our pinnacle product," says Ed Striebig, regional manager for Bentley in Australia and New Zealand. "I think you have to be realistic about your volume expectations at that upper echelon of the market, but we are very confident that it will receive a good reception." The Grand Bentley is the model Bentley has been in desperate need of for several years as the ageing Arnage range struggled to hold its own against newer, more technologically advanced products such as the Phantom from Rolls-Royce. "I think it should certainly appeal to existing Arnage owners and to those people that perhaps more recently have looked to Rolls-Royce for a pinnacle limousine product," Striebig says. "But we also hope it will attract people who perhaps hadn't considered a car from Bentley in that segment of the market for some time by virtue of it being all new and state-of-the-art technology." Striebig would not comment on suggestions the first concept model of the new car will be displayed at one of the world's peak gatherings for well-heeled car owners, the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance on August 16 where Bentley are this year a featured marque. "We are not ready to announce our plans for market entry yet but there will be more information coming out within a couple of weeks," was all Striebig would say. Arnage production officially ends in September which will clear space at the Crewe factory for the new car, although it is not expected to be available for at least another 12 months. The Arnage replacement — it may well retain the historic nameplate — is expected to be built off a heavily modified version of Audi's modular platform seen in everything from the new A4 to the next A8. The V8 engine will be a bespoke Bentley powerplant and drive is most likely to be through ZF's new eight-speed automatic transmission. The engine is certain to be an E85 capable flex-fuel unit in the same vein as the recently launched Continental Supersports. While not confirming the new powerplant, Striebig says: "By 2012 all of our products across the whole portfolio will have flex-fuel capability, in the same way the Super Sport has. "This is very exciting ... it is a very rare occurence. If you look back over the 90-year history of the Bentley marque there have only been five all-new four-door limousines. "I know that everybody back at the factory — and there have been some 600 people involved directly from a design and engineering and manufacturing engineering perspective — is immensely proud to be involved."

A greener ethanol engine is one way Bentley plans to protect its place at the top of global motoring.The luxury British brand will slash exhaust emissions and boost fuel economy under sweeping plans under development by Bentley in partnership with Volkswagen.It plans to suck the engineering expertise of its German parent company and then adapt VW technology to its own range.The plan is firm, but Bentley head of engineering Paul Jones is not big on detail.Speaking at the launch of its 2009 Continental Flying Spur models in Boston, Jones hints that Bentley will take a series of stabs into the heart of its range's high fuel consumption.He indicates the first move will be biofuel-compatible engines in an effort to get the brand's CO2 emission levels down towards the proposed European Union's 120g/km target.So engines with Saab-style E85 compatibility will become available within two years for the US and Europe. There is nothing firm for Australia as the rollout of E85 fuel is still in its infancy.Jones says Bentley will not be party to sourcing ethanol from human feedstock.“We will not become involved in using food crops to power our cars. The E85 fuel will have to come from other sources such as wood pulp and the woody stalks of crops,” he says.The first Bentley to get E85 compatibility will be the Arnage V8. This 50-year-old engine is expected to remain behind a Bentley badge for at least four years . . . perhaps longer if it can meet future emission regulations, says Jones.But it is expected to be replaced with a new powerplant by 2012 which he hints “will have a 40 per cent reduction in CO2”, and therefore, a 40 per cent decrease in fuel consumption.“But it will have no change in performance. We won't do business if we have to reduce performance. Our customers have very stringent demands,” he says.Jones will not indicate what powerplant will make these reductions, though his hints arrive around the same time the Volkswagen Group — including VW's major shareholder Porsche — has outlined a new push into hybrids.Bentley has suggested it will make its cars lighter to help the fuel economy which, in the 2.5-tonne Flying Spur saloon, averages about 17 litres/100km.A fuel-efficient Volkswagen DSG semi-automated transmission is possible, but Jones says the W12 engine's high torque will be too high.Other than the hybrid route, Bentley also has access to the Volkswagen turbodiesel engine range including a bi-turbo V12 and V10 it has developed for its Q7 four-wheel drive and R8 supercar. 

Only 550 of the Brooklands model Bentleys are available worldwide."They are tailor-made to the exact specifications of each customer,” said Sue Young, the spokeswoman for Queensland Bentley.Ms Young said the Brisbane buyer wanted to remain anonymous, as did two other Queenslanders who have expressed an interest in getting one of the luxury coupes.She said all three currently own a Bentley Arnage T, worth about $545,000.Maserati's latest GranTurismo will be seen in Australia for the first time at the show, which opens at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre at noon on 1, February 2008.The sports car's appeal seems to have outweighed its $293,000 price tag, because 150 Australian orders have already been taken for the new model, including 20 from Queensland, according the company's Australian general manager, Edward Butler.No other Maserati has sold as quickly and the waiting list for the 2008 GranTurismo is greater than the firm's Australian and New Zealand sales last year, Mr Butler said.Luxury-car sellers say their models have become increasingly popular with younger professionals."The 20 to 35-year age group is taking a much bigger slice of the market share,” said Audi Centre Brisbane dealer principal Greg Willims. “There is no doubt the prosperity in Queensland is growing.”Adam O'Brien, of Brisbane Prestige Cars in Fortitude Valley, said manufacturers were working harder to attract young customers in a bid to keep them for life.Danny Singh, 31, of Brendale in Brisbane's northwest, recently bought a luxury H3 Hummer from Brisbane Prestige Cars for $70,000 then spent a further $15,000 on modifications.Also making their Australian debuts at the show will be new-look versions of cult street machines the Subaru WRX STi, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution — known as the Evo X to fans because it is the 10th in the series.Both are expected to be in the $60,000 bracket.Australia will be represented in the go-fast stakes by a Ford Performance Vehicles version of the Territory SUV, the yet-to-be-released F6 X all-wheel-drive wagon.Brisbane International Motor Show, Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, South Bank, runs from Friday to February 10; Monday to Saturday, 10am-10pm; Sunday, 10am-6pm. Adults $17.50, children $10.