Bentley Azure: First Look

Motoring Channel Staff - 15/9/2005

Bentley Motors recently announced that the glamorous Arnage Drophead Coupé 4-seater convertible show car, unveiled as a concept at the Los Angeles Auto Show in January 2005, will carry the evocative Azure name.

The new Bentley Azure goes on sale in Spring 2006 and was unveiled for the first time publicly at the 2005 Frankfurt Motor Show.

Bentley's new Azure is an elegant 4-seater convertible that provides a powerful and refined open-top driving experience while offering a unique blend of classic Bentley design and craftsmanship.

The new Azure is the latest in a long line of much-admired Bentley convertibles, its design inspired by the 1955 Park Ward S1 Drophead Coupé and the original Azure introduced in 1995.

Like its iconic predecessor, the new Azure becomes the flagship of the Bentley model range, reaffirming the company's status as the prime provider of 4-seater convertibles at the very pinnacle of the market.

Customer reaction to the Los Angeles show car, unveiled with the project name of Arnage Drophead Coupé, demonstrated the overwhelming demand for a top of the range Bentley convertible.

"We have been inundated with demand for a new Azure virtually from the moment the original model ceased production," says Adrian Hallmark, member of the board, sales and marketing.

"The exclusivity, style, luxury and performance of the new Bentley convertible flagship evoke the Riviera lifestyle like no other, fully justifying the revival of the Azure name," said Hallmark.

The design of the new Azure is, first and foremost, unmistakably 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 unmistakably 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.

The twin-turbocharged V8 engine, double-wishbone suspension and extremely rigid body structure of the Arnage provide a state-of-the-art basis for the new Azure. It is powered by a 336kW (450hp) version of the Arnage’s 6.7-litre twin-turbocharged intercooled V8 engine and produces 875Nm (645lb ft) of torque.