Luxury car maker Bentley Motors has unveiled its most powerful model to date with the 168mph Arnage T.

The new �166,500 car, built at Crewe in Cheshire, was revealed at the Detroit Motor Show in the United States on Monday.

It is designed to appeal to a slightly younger-than-normal Bentley driver - someone in their late 40s rather than late 50s.

Bentley executives hope the Arnage T will particularly attract Porsche, Ferrari and Aston Martin drivers.

New plant

The new model is powered by a 6.75 litre V8 engine and can go from 0-60mph in just 5.5 seconds.

By the end of the year, the Arnage T will have been joined by two other new models - the Arnage R and the Arnage RL.

Next year will see major changes at Crewe, where Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars have been produced for more than 50 years.

While Volkswagen continues to manufacture Bentleys, Rolls-Royce production is being taken over by German rival BMW, which is building a new plant to make the cars at Goodwood, West Sussex.

Bentley production at Crewe is expected to rise from about 1,500 models a year to about 9,000 within a few years.

The company is launching a family of mid-sized models, the first of which will be a GT coupe.