During a brief and restrained test drive across rural France to the 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit-home of Arnage corner and five famous Bentley victories-"turbo lag" didn't even enter the conversation. With the DOHC V-8 churning out 413 pound-feet of torque all the way from 2500 to 4200 rpm, and output towering to 350 horsepower at 5500 rpm, throttle response is unfailingly keen. Catapulting from standstill to 60 mph in a claimed 6.2 seconds or blasting from 30 to 70 mph in 5.7 seconds is impressive in a lightweight no-frills sportster; but the Bentley gives you all this, plus the sumptuous cabin refinements of a luxury cruiser.
The Arnage's new fully galvanized monocoque steel bodyshell is 65 percent stiffer than before; the independent wishbone front and rear suspension (with automatically adaptive electro-hydraulic dampers) is better controlled; the rack-and-pinion steering is now directly mounted to the front subframe and perceptibly more rigid; and the old ship-at-sea corkscrew motion over bumps is gone.
Complementing the inherent integrity of the new chassis are bigger, stronger brakes, a smoother-shifting five-speed automatic transmission, even a newfangled device called Automatic Stability Control. It's significant that this traction-maxxing device-also BMW-supplied-can be switched on or off from the cockpit: Unlikely though it may seem at first appearance, the Bentley Arnage really is a driver's car.