2004 Bentley Arnage R

Ettore Bugatti was losing Le Mans annually to a certain British automaker when he let envy get the best of him. W.O. Bentley, he reportedly said, "makes the fastest trucks in Europe." This was just before Walter Owen sold his cash-strapped company unwittingly to Rolls-Royce, disguised as the British Equitable Trust (and long before Bentley and Bugatti became VW marques).

BMW has dropped Rolls's version of the Arnage, and even though the new--and fabulous--Continental GT has drawn all the marque's attention lately, any luxury brand needs big sedans.

Bentley's Arnage R doesn't feel old so much as it feels like a mature driver's car. VW invested in a stiffer body structure and tweaked mechanical bits for the 2001 models on, and chassis engineers have used the stiffer structure to tune in a supple ride combined with solid cornering power. It's still a 5700-pound car (with folding desks on the backs of the front seats), so it's no RX-8. But it is agile. Steering is light and precise, with good on-center feel. Its twin-turbo 400-horsepower V-8 has more torque than an overwrought metaphor (616 pound-feet!), proving GM isn't the only automaker that can massage a pushrod engine to near perfection. And every inch of this machine speaks quality.

The higher-priced, harder-edged Arnage T offers even more power and torque and a stiffer suspension, but why give up the R's quiet subtlety? You won't use the Arnage to track down Z06s and Vipers; that's the Continental GT's job. You will, however, use it to extricate yourself from traffic with comfort, alacrity, and style. Fast trucks, indeed.