Alternative review of Bentley Arnage

The Arnage is my idea of what a Bentley should look like - even a modern one. No hi-tech frippery: just class oozing from every pore. Of course it's not a family car, but during my week with this model, it certainly functioned effectively as one. Who would own a car as glorious as this and let a chauffeur have it?

For most potential celebrity and boardroom-level owners of a £170,000 luxury saloon like this, practicalities tend to take something of a comfortable back seat - providing of course that they can fit several sets of golf clubs in the boot. As you would expect, the Arnage manages this with ease. But then so does Bentley's Continental GT Flying Spur - and that costs 'only' £117,500. The difference with the Arnage is that it has that extra feeling of true exclusivity. You don't buy one out of the showroom or from a brochure: it's created for you, exactly to your own demanding specification. Options include a 19-inch six-spoke disc wheel for the R and RL models, and 19-inch five-spoke 'Blade' sports wheel for the Arnage T. Also available across the range is the winged 'B' mascot, which saw a welcome return recently on the Diamond Series Arnage. The iconic mascot - which can retract neatly into the grille surround - was originally designed by motoring artist F. Gordon Crosby and first used on the 1930 Bentley 8-litre. Interior design updates include a hide-trimmed gearlever, chrome gearlever bezel, and a 'Thin Film Technology' driver information panel to display more comprehensive and clearly accessible information. The Arnage RL model receives additional standard specification including a rear centre armrest bottle cooler, veneered rear centre cushion box, rear Bluetooth master telephone system and a reversing camera.

Though the feel of the silky-smooth V8 engine is much the same as it always was, this Bentley's powerplant has received considerable improvement in recent times. Today, Arnage owners get the choice of this unit either in 450bhp form in the 'R' model or in 500bhp guise in the flagship 'T' variant. It's easy to take progress for granted but some perspective is granted by the fact that the modern Arnage T not only produces 300bhp more than its 1959 predecessor but only consumes 60 per cent as much fuel and, thanks to improved fuel injection and exhaust controls, its emissions output is an astonishing 99 per cent lower than Bentley's first V8. Power is nothing without control, however, and Bentley has quietly introduced a ZF six-speed automatic transmission to replace the old four-speeder. Each Arnage model has had its gear ratios especially tuned, plus there is a more sophisticated locking torque converter that acts even more rapidly to throttle inputs, ensuring seamless acceleration. Three transmission modes (Drive, Sport and Semi-Automatic) allow the driver to take full advantage of the improved 'box. The semi auto mode works by allowing the driver to prod the lever backwards and forwards to select gears sequentially for ultimate control. There are other, even less obvious ways that the Arnage's power delivery and control has been finessed. Where previous Arnage models featured engine and transmissions that were governed by separate electronic control systems, this generation features a much smarter Bosch unit. Going the other way are the sport modes for the suspension and gearbox which can now be activated independently of the other for better control. The traction control and ESP stability control systems have also been recalibrated to restore full power earlier after an intervention.

I would love to. Although you know in advance that this car will feel special, nothing prepares you for the moment you drop behind the wheel. Virtually everything is extravagantly, voluptuously over-engineered. The turned aluminium fascia and door inserts of the test car were beautifully finished, as was the pleated hidework on the doors and seats. You find yourself dipping switches and twisting exquisitely knurled knobs just to feel the sheer oily quality of their motion. Such is the overwhelming sense of happy surprise and delight that merely operating the big Bentley becomes a pleasure in itself.