BentleyArnage

The whisperers have it that Bugatti may be borrowing from Bentley for a new sedan. What they can't seem to pinpoint is exactly what kind of sharing the two marques will be doing, and whether or not the resulting super Bug will be a supremely high-powered four-door to compete with the Rolls-Royce Phantom. If the two brands do indeed share something, like the next Arnage's platform, for instance, that might make sense. But just a few months ago, Bugatti said that its next product would be even more expensive than the Veyron, and lead man Josef Paefgen has also said that there will be no inexpensive Bugatti.

Click above for high-res gallery of the 2009 Bentley Brooklands

The next Bentley Arnage is due in 2010, and thank heavens it won't be a biggie-sized clone of the Continental Flying Spur. That means we don't expect it to look so much like the rendering above, which is 75-percent Flying Spur with a GT tail. A bit long-in-the-tooth by modern replacement standards, the Arnage still sells about 600 - 800 units per year, which is not far behind the much newer Rolls-Royce Phantom.

click above for high-res gallery of LWB Bentley Arnage spy shots

Having launched the Continental GT in 2003, the four-door Continental Flying Spur in 2005, the Azure in 2006, the Continental GT Convertible in 2006 and the Brooklands earlier this year, Bentley is now turning its attention to its flagship sedan: the Arnage. Although the vehicle has been on the road since 1998, that's still nothing compared to its predecessor, which was introduced in 1980 before being replaced by the Arnage. No matter which way you cut it, though, the Arnage has just turned ten years old, and that's a long product cycle.