Want to give you kid a chance to drive, ok, what about a classic Bentley ? yup, you can do that too.....

Young Driver launches a new experience offering 11-17 year olds the chance to drive a classic Bentley Arnage

Parents – do you fancy being chauffeured around for a change, instead of being a non-stop taxi service for your kids? How about sitting in the back of a luxury Bentley whilst your youngster takes to the wheel?

This dream could now be a reality, thanks to the launch of a new driving experience by the UK’s largest provider of pre-17 driving lessons, Young Driver.

For the first time, 11-17 year olds will be able to get behind the wheel of one of the most luxurious – and powerful – cars on the market at their Young Driver lesson.

Anyone aged 11 and over, who has had at least an hour of tuition in one of Young Driver’s SKODA Citigo vehicles, will be able to try driving the 6.75 litre, 400 bhp Bentley. The vehicle has been adapted to be dual control, and lessons will take place under the watchful eye of a specialist instructor. Parents can sit in the rear of the car to experience the lesson, during which youngsters will practise the same manoeuvres as they would in a regular Young Driver session.

Launching at six venues initially – Crewe (where Bentleys are made), Birmingham NEC, Merry Hill, the British Motor Museum at Gaydon, Malvern’s Three Counties Showground and Warwickshire’s Stoneleigh Park – it is hoped the idea will be rolled out to Young Driver’s remaining 36 venues over the coming months.

The Bentley Arnage is over 5.4 metres long and 1.9 metres wide and when it launched in 1998 it retailed for over £150,000. The car is rumoured to have famous fans including David Beckham and Rio Ferdinand.

Kim Stanton, who heads up Young Driver, said: “The Bentley Arnage is obviously a hugely powerful car – but this is not about encouraging youngsters to try and get from 0-60mph in 6 seconds – it’s about giving them the experience of what driving a larger car can be like. The drivers will be doing the same manoeuvres they do in a standard Young Driver lesson, such as practising parking, and giving way and negotiating a roundabout. It’s something we imagine will be a special treat, and that someone who has had a couple of Young Driver lessons before might like to try to get a new perspective on how different cars handle. And it’s probably an experience that very few adults can even say they’ve had! It will certainly make a change for parents to be the ones being chauffeured about for once.”

Young Driver was set up in 2009 with the aim of creating a safer next generation of drivers by teaching them to drive over a longer period of time, and from a younger age. Currently in the UK, one in five newly qualified drivers has an accident within six months of passing their test, rising to 40 per cent of young males, and 400 people are killed on the UK’s roads every year in incidents involving young drivers. Research shows that those who learn from an earlier age reduce their accident risk by up to a half. The scheme has now given over 300,000 lessons.

A thirty minute lesson in the Bentley Arnage costs £49.95 and should be booked by calling 0844 371 9010. Sixty minute lessons are also available. The first lessons will take place at Stoneleigh Park on 21st May