Bentley Azure Convertible: Review

Another great car and another great picture gallery by Serious Wheels.

The luxurious four-seater Azure, which goes on sale in Spring 2006, is the latest in a portfolio of wonderfully desirable 'dropheads' stretching back many decades and reaffirms Bentley's reputation as creator of the world's most elegant convertibles.

Bentley first hinted that a new Azure might be in the pipeline when it unveiled the glamorous Arnage Drophead Coupé show car at the Los Angeles Auto Show in January 2005. The show car stimulated such interest among Bentley aficionados that the decision was quickly taken to continue its extensive development programme in time for delivery of the first customer cars in Spring 2006. Last month, Bentley announced that the production version of the show car would carry the evocative Azure name. Like its iconic predecessor, which was in production from 1995 to 2002, the new Azure becomes the flagship of the Bentley model range.

The design of the new Azure is, first and foremost, unmistakeably Bentley. It shares its face with the current Arnage range and its platform ensures it seats four adults in supreme comfort. But it is also unmistakeably unique. The entire cabin and rear section of the car are newly designed, with a stunning bespoke interior; the objective being to create an opulent and inviting seating area that reflects its status as a car that is at home in Palm Springs or the Riviera. The complex folding roof on the convertible is operated hydraulically at the touch of a switch: the impressive, three-layer fabric assembly being elegantly stowed beneath the hide-trimmed tonneau in under 30 seconds.