Bentley's range is a perfect marriage of classic and modern, says Claire Bowen
Thinking about the price of the car you are driving is not to be recommended when it's a Bentley Arnage T.
Which is why I'm glad that I didn't know and could enjoy the experience without feeling I had to treat it with kid gloves.
Powered by a 450bhp, 6.75 litre, traditional V8 engine, this is the sort of limo which would deliver you, stress free, to the South of France in one go.
It's long - I was glad I didn't have to park its 17.5 ft body - but it's really easy to drive. And as for comfort, well, it is a Bentley.
But if I thought the Arnage was strong, I hadn't bargained on the Continental Flying Spur.
Not only did the 6.0 litre, 550bhp, twin turbo-powered engine utter the sweetest of exhaust notes but it also went like the clappers. This is the fastest four-door saloon in the world - capable of 320km/h (200mph).
The Flying Spur has the modern look of the new face of Bentley but behind the wheel you are reminded of the marque's sporting heritage.
Bentley is riding high. Despite UK sales being down 15 per cent compared with the same six month period last year, management are still smiling at the luxury car manufacturer's Crewe headquarters.
They know that this is just a mere blip. Waiting in the wings is the beautiful Continental GTC - the cabriolet version of the already popular GT - and a new sleek Azure giving them two good reasons for optimism.
But Bentley is a global brand and worldwide sales are booming, with figures for the first half of the year well up on the same period last year. And emerging markets in China, Korea and India are boosting sales further. Last year's sales topped 8,600 while this year's are expected to be nearer 10,000.
Irish sales are on the rise too and are showing no sign of decline to the extent that Richard Stinson, Franchise Director of Charles Hurst Bentley in Belfast, is planning on opening a dealership near Dublin before the end of the year.
Already a full three years production of the new Continental GTCs - which officially go on sale in September - have been sold without the new owners ever having seen them. If anyone else wants one of these handsome cabrios they'll have to join the two-year waiting list.
Bentley started life 87 years ago in London before moving to Derby and finally Crewe where it produced it's sporty limousines alongside the more sedate Rolls Royce.
But the split came in 1998 when BMW bought Rolls and moved production to the South of England while Bentley, under the ownership of VW, remained in Crewe.
Since then Rolls Royce has concentrated on the ultimate luxury car - the Rolls Royce Phantom - while Bentley's philosophy has always been to build more achievable cars.
For both companies the split has worked well. Rolls benefited from a €151 million input by BMW which resulted in a new purpose-built factory and its worldwide sales last year reached 796 - the highest in 15 years. The Phantom is currently the only car available - there is a long wheel-base version too - but a convertible will join the line-up next year.
Bentley also believe the parting of the ways was the best thing that could have happened. Volkswagen invested €720 million in the Crewe factory which has been modernised and equipped with state-of-the-art technology. Annual car production has jumped from around 1,700 in 1998 (which also included Rolls Royce) to almost 10,000.
Introducing the mid-sized Continental GT was the catalyst for the growth but the Arnage, and now the new Azure, will boost sales further.
"We will continue to invest in Arnage," explained Martin Broomer, Head of Product Communications. "People want the flagship model - it helps define the company. You need the Arnage range, which includes the Azure, to continue the tradition.
Through investment in specialist equipment, this efficient factory produces these special cars more swiftly - it takes five weeks to produce a Continental GT and more than double that for an Arnage.
But there is still the same attention to detail that the discerning Bentley buyer has come to expect - and enjoy.