2005 Bentley Arnage LWB

This 2005 (facelift) Bentley Arnage RL250 is something a little bit special. Not only does its condition appear to speak volumes about the care vested upon it by its former keepers, but the model itself is something of a Crewe delicacy. Just 36 left-hand drive Arnage RLs were made in 2005 – of a total model production of just 326 in six years. The RL was, as the initials suggest, the replacement for the Red Label – itself a rather special machine. RLs got a 400bhp twin-turbo L-series V8 engine with all available exclusively by Mulliner special order. That meant totally individual, tailored specifications with no two RLs likely to be entirely the same.

Owned by a long-term Rolls-Royce Enthusiast Club member since 2016, this 49,912km (31,013 mile) Arnage is one of several RR and Bentley models currently in the vendor’s custody. The idea was to use this Bentley to tour Europe, but that’s been off limits for the past few years… Supplied new to France, this Arnage RL was purchased by the vendor from well-known RR & Bentley specialist Hanwells of London. Hanwells imported it from the south of France with the service history from Bentley Cannes to confirm. With a tiny mileage, excellent history and an apparently near immaculate condition inside and out, this is one Arnage that certainly stands out from the crowd.

The vendor informs us that he’s a fastidious detailer and loves nothing better than spending his weekends rubbing expensive products into all of his car’s nooks and crannies. This apparent level of care doesn’t seem too wide of the mark as we spent a long time pouring over the car’s panels and came up with very little to report. The colour (if you class white as one) appears to be uniform all over and seems to present very well indeed. There are next to no marks to the exterior worth mentioning. There’s a few tiny marks along the passenger sill, just rearward of the front wheel. That exposed slab-fronted nose appears to remain in tip-top order. We couldn’t even find any stone impacts worthy of mention.

The vendor informs us that one of the front parking sensors has just failed, prior to the sale. He also pointed out the surface rust that’s formed on the top edge of the petrol filler flap – an easy enough part to take off and address. There’s a sharp red swage line and grille badge breaking up the white nicely, with excellent original wheels that appear to not need any refurbishment work. The tyres are a set of Pirelli Pzero Rossos with plenty of tread, though we couldn’t see the date stamps. These were specially developed for the RL and were standard fit.

A red cabin on a white car is certainly a vivid choice and yet when it works, as it does here, it makes all those green, brown or black shades look simply dull by comparison. The flip side with white leather, of course, is that it leaves nowhere for dirt or stains to hide. Thankfully, this cabin appears to be in very good condition and therefore isn’t trying to hide anything. There are a few very minor stains here and there – one area of the carpet in the passenger rear footwell for example.

The cabin has apparently been subjected to a full professional valet very recently, and the excellent condition of the door cards, capping and wood generally, would certainly back this up. The fully-lined boot looks good enough to sleep in and carries the bespoke Bentley umbrellas, still on their racks and seemingly unused.

The vendor reports that the multitude of toys in the cabin all still work as Crewe intended, including the two-stage heated front and rear seats. The stereo includes a boot-mounted 6-disc CD autochanger and electric aerial. There’s also a rear passenger sunroof, with just the slightest signs of wear to its right-hand trim, where it meets the headlining, (a few stitches coming loose).

There are two batteries in the boot, one of which has some trickle charger clamps fitted, which we’ll get to in the history section. There’s also all the correct gear under the boot carpet including; a complete toolkit and set of spare bulbs, the correct wheel chocks, jack, torch, warning triangle and first-aid kit – the latter still in its original plastic wrapping.

The vendor is also giving away a new set of lambs wool rugs (RRP £800) with the car!

The engine bay is vast, naturally – it’s quite a sizable motor after all. The condition of the components that we could see – most are covered by plastic – appeared to be dry and leak-free. The sound deadening appears to be in excellent shape with all of its clips still in place, keeping it snug. The bonnet struts are still holding up this vast panel as intended and we were also able to close the lid with ease. The service history shows that this Bentley has received plenty of regular attention and nothing we saw under the bonnet would counteract that.

Having a scoot underneath proper reveals a very tidy underside for a car of this age. No doubt its age-defying condition has been helped by spending the majority of its years in a warm, salt-free climate. There are the first signs of the usual surface rust appearing on some of the components – the exhaust in particular. All the bushes, bellows and dust caps that we laid our eyes on looked sound and without wear, an opinion backed up by an advisory-free MoT last time round – just the LHD-RHD beam benders were noted by the tester.

The note a small bend and scrape to the floor, on the passenger side front – perhaps from clumsy jacking at some point? We're being really picky now, paltry things like the small crack in the undertray (passenger side front valance) are barely worth reporting and certainly don’t seem stop any component from functioning as intended.

As mentioned, this Bentley started its life in France as witnessed by an invoice from Bentley Cannes for its first service in 2006. There’s then a bit of break until we see another invoice for servicing in 2009 from well-known Rolls-Royce and Bentley specialist Hanwells of London. The car apparently stayed in the capital, being used infrequently, until the same firm bought it and imported it proper in 2016. The vendor then purchased the car and had his local specialist, Colbrook near Peterborough, maintain the car from then until the present.

The highlights from its annual visits here include; March 2017 new battery fitted then found to be faulty and replaced again in 2019 (possible charging issue ‘cured’ by fitting the trickle charger cables). Then we see a 6000 miles service in 2017 at Colbrook costing £1,314.20. A larger service at Colbrook in 2019 saw a trans fluid, engine oil and power steering fluid flush, as well as a pollen filter swap and overhaul of the offside rear damper costing £2,225.34. February 2020 saw another £651.42 spent on engine oil service (plus pollen filters again) before a MoT test – the current clean-sheet pass expires in February 2022.

The rarity of the RL250 does perhaps demand that it’s kept for driving across the continent or possibly shows, as the vendor has used the car to date.

Whatever your intentions, we’re sure that this enormously comfortable, rapid and imposing saloon will be up to it. That’s why we think it deserves to make at least £35,000 - £50,000.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car is located at our headquarters near Abingdon; we are open weekdays between 9am-5pm, so to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing to make an appointment. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.