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Bentley Arnage Green Label
(1998 - 2000)

Bentley Arnage, 1998, #SCBLB51E4XCX1277

On 26th April 1998 the Bentley Arnage was unveiled to the public at the Sarthe Circuit in France. Bentley Motors Ltd. couldn't have chosen a more appropriate location. This was the racecourse, which had seen Bentleys finishing first in the famous "24 Hours of Le Mans" no less than five times during their glorious past. The renaissance of Bentley as an independent marque had started with the Bentley Mulsanne - a name taken from the Le Mans race circuit. The Bentley Arnage took its name from the challenging Arnage bend at Le Mans. A completely new developed all-aluminium V8-engine, boosted by twin turbochargers had been developed in conjunction with BMW (Bavarian Motor Works, Munich). BMW was partner of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars too as regards the V12-engine for the new Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph and in fact Silver Seraph and Arnage did share almost identical body shells. Coachwork for the first time was produced completely in-house at the Rolls-Royce factory in Crewe. The Bentley Arnage was distinguished from the Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph not only by its engine, radiator and badges. Large 17" light alloy wheels were fitted and disc brakes of increased diameter (Bentley 334/328 mm, Rolls-Royce 314/305 mm). From model year 2000 onward 18"alloy wheels were fitted to allow for even more powerful brakes (348/345 mm). The gear selector was mounted on the centre console. The interior being a tasteful blend of selected leather, finest wood and deep pile woolen carpets left no doubt about this grand car having been designed in England. For the model year 2000 the name was altered to Bentley Arnage Green Label. This was a hint to the company logo "Winged B" showing a green enamel background. To give the model a clear identification of its own had become necessary, because a new option existed: To order the "old" 6.75 litre turbo-charged V8-engine (that was standard on the huge Continental coupés and on the Azure convertible) for the four-door version too. The Bentley Arnage Red Label was launched in September 1999 and sported the "big block" powertrain. To a certain degree this seemed to be an in-house concurrent and caused some speculation, whether or not this was a result of Volkswagen's - the new owner of the marque after a fierce take-over battle with BMW - desire to mark a clear separation from their Munich-based competitor.