Bentley Convertible - The Bentley Arnage

Right from its creation in 1919, Bentley Motors Limited has committed to producing luxurious cars that shall count among the best and the fastest ever to be built. Almost eighty years later, a new addition - the Bentley Arnage - brought such accolade to the brand that, to this day, still stands.

The Bentley Arnage was in production between 1998 to 2009 and was unveiled at the same time as the Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph. Practically two decades had passed since new designs were seen coming from both brands and the reception was unsurprisingly phenomenal. Bentley had been enjoying a long history of prestige and coming out with the Arnage further cemented their mark in the automotive industry. Measuring more than five meters in length and two meters wide, the Arnage originally weighed about 2.5 metric tons and housed the newly employed 4.4L, twin-turbo, BMW V8 engine.

A year after, however, Volkswagen instigated a less than desirable takeover of Rolls-Royce and Bentley convertible. One of the immediate changes that VW implemented involved that of replacing the Arnage's existing V8 with the older, 16-valve engine from the Bentley Turbo R. The resulting setup was then unveiled as the Arnage Red Label.

Almost instantly after the said event, the car was deemed unable to satisfy the emmission standards required by the government at the time. In an effort to save Bentley's reputation, the Arnage was fitted with a stiffer shell and larger brakes to accommodate the replacement engine. These and other modifications paved the way for the Arnage Green Label which continuously underwent efforts at improvement that led to the creation of a more efficient and reliable automobile.

The Red Label eventually returned to using the original BMW V8 engine, a long-wheelbase version of which was produced in 2001. This became the Arnage RL, which boasted mainly of a more spacious inside rear. This series fully restored all damages to the Arnage's reputation which were brought about by the mishaps in the alterations made in creating the Red Label years before. Client-specific customizations to some RL's such as armor protection raised its value to as high as $300, 000 for a single car.

Further upgrades to the Red Label resulted to the release of both the Arnage R and the Arnage T in 2002. Six years after, in what was going to be the Arnage's last year of production, more modifications were introduced. These were implemented in the last 150 cars completed between 2001 and 2002. It was not until August 2009 that the Arnage's replacement - the new Bentley Mulsanne - was unveiled to the public.

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