Bentley is due to replace the Arnage in 2010 but is facing strict new emissions standards set to arrive a couple of years after the launch of the flagship. Wanting to keep the current 6.75L V8, the company is looking at the EU6 emission limits due to arrive in 2013-2015 as their target for the new model. The engine is based on a design that goes back almost 50 years but officials aren’t looking at letting it retire just yet.
To reach the strict emissions target engineers may implement a hybrid option using a system developed by Audi. In an interview with UK’s Autocar Bentley CEO Franz-Josef Paefgen commented “we are looking at a long-term problem that will develop over decades and centuries…If we have to reduce fuel consumption by 20 per cent, we will do it. But we have to satisfy our customers and build a proper Bentley.”
To cut down weight, the new car may be built using an aluminum spaceframe chassis adapted from Audi, helping save around 150kg. Body panels too are likely to be made from aluminum, requiring a major factory upgrade.
The new Arnage will be significant for Bentley as it will be an in-house project, and will provide the new basis for forthcoming models. “This will be a totally independent car,” says Paefgen. “It will not be like the Continental, a derivative of a VW Group product, although it will use components from the group.”
Bentley has always been known for building sizable cars with big engines and doesn’t look to be changing the formula anytime soon. Referring to a possible downsize in the dimensions of Bentleys, Paefgen said, “We may need to shed weight, but we still need to produce cars of a Bentley size.”
motorauthority
Loggato
