First Look: 2011 Bentley Arnage

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New Grand Bentley (Arnage Replacement)

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A replacement for the Bentley Arnage has been confirmed, and the British automaker has released this first photo detail of the new car.

Bentley's offering no more details of the new vehicle, but reports earlier this week suggest the new car will be shown in Monterey this August, as the classic-car world convenes for the richest automotive weekend on the planet. Some sources speculate the new version might be pitched at a higher price point than today's car--which would make it a direct challenger to the 2009 Rolls-Royce Phantom, at a time when a new Rolls-Royce Ghost is preparing to take on the Bentley Continental Flying Spur head to head.

Rolls-Royce and Bentley were, of course, part of the same company until the brands were split between Volkswagen (Bentley) and BMW (Rolls-Royce).

A spokesman would only confirm that "the price will reflect the exclusivity and positioning of this all-new model," and that the name of the vehicle will be announced later this year.

If pattern holds true, however, the Arnage replacement likely will sport some sort of aluminum lighter-weight architecture, and a new V-8 (turbocharged once or twice) coupled to an eight-speed automatic transmission. In all, the new Bentley may end up a little more closely related to the forthcoming 2010 Audi A8 than to the smaller Bentley Continental Flying Spur sedan.

More details will be announced later this summer. Until then, Bentley promises the new car will be "exceptional in all respects on the road" and says the Arnage replacement "will be the purest expression of the Bentley spirit." Stay tuned.