A fridge and humidor in your car

Monday, December 20, 2004

Bentley has decided to hand-build a limited run of 20 bespoke Arnage limousines.

Arnage limo

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Bentley has decided to hand-build a limited run of 20 bespoke Arnage limousines.

The stretched version of the Arnage was unveiled in concept form at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2004 and will enter production in February 2005.

If you have not yet got a Christmas present for your significant other, the tailor-made Arnage could be just the thing, as long as you have at least £270,000 to spend. This base price will climb depending on how you specify the car and which materials you choose.

A team of account managers and designers from the company’s Mulliner coachbuilding arm will work with each buyer to create a bespoke car. The company said the level of personalisation is ‘as wide as the customer’s imagination’, allowing buyers to create a rolling palace or a mobile office.

Plutocratic passengers perch on recessed rear seats to enjoy extra privacy behind deep, extended D-pillars. Electrically operated footrests, LCD screens, or a single larger plasma screen that stows away are all available.

Other options include computers with internet access, fridges for chilling the Cristal, and cigar humidors to keep the Cubans in tip-top condition. Armour plating is, naturally, also available.

Every car will ride on a longer wheelbase, which has been stretched from 3116mm to 3566mm – longer than a Volkswagen Lupo measures from nose to tail. Overall, the Arnage Limosuine stretches the tape to 5850mm.

A twin turbocharged 6.75-litre V8 provides 400bhp and powers the car, which weighs almost three tonnes, to 60mph in just 6.7sec. Top speed is put at 124mph.

The company is not making any boasts about combined economy but we would expect your chauffeur to get around 10mpg on the combined cycle. Emissions place the car in the top 35% tax bracket, so a higher-rate taxpayer with an Arnage will pay around £3148 a month in tax.

Rivals at this price and exclusivity are few and far between but before signing up for the Bentley you might want to first try out a Maybach 62 or Rolls Royce Phantom, a stretched version of which is also expected to arrive in 2005.

  • Bentley will also launch a four-door version of its Continental coupe next year. To see this, the stretched Phantom and more than 120 other new cars arriving next year get our Star Cars supplement, free with the February issue of What Car? on sale on December 27.