Bentley has given a world debut to its most powerful car to date -- the 168mph Arnage T.

The new £166,500 model, built at Crewe, Cheshire, was being displayed at the Detroit Motor Show in the United States.

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

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

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 carries on producing 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.