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Bentley Azure
Waft and go... very very fast
Before I continue, I must declare an interest. I loved Bentleys from the
moment I could read. My friends had the Famous Five, but I read about the
antics of the Bentley Boys. A diamond millionaire, racehorse breeder,
powerboat racer, Surrey wicketkeeper, three-time winner at Le Mans . . . and
that was just Woolf Barnato.
Another, Glen Kidston, survived a plane crash by punching his way through the
burning fuselage and broke the record for flying from London to Cape Town. A
third, Sir Henry “Tim” Birkin, raced in a polka-dot scarf and died from
septicaemia, having burnt his arm on his car’s exhaust during the Tripoli
Grand Prix.
Bentleys were what this extraordinary assortment of playboys, part-time race
drivers and full-time heroes chose to drive, and what earned them their
collective nickname.
Drive a Bentley from their era and you’ll know why. They are heavy, difficult,
noisy and uncomfortable but, on the right road, uniquely thrilling.
The latest £222,500 Bentley Azure, a largely hand-built four-seat open tourer,
is the closest thing we have to the leviathans raced by the Bentley Boys
almost 80 years ago. But difficult, noisy, uncomfortable and thrilling it
most certainly is not, and its driver is more likely to have won the lottery
than Le Mans.
That’s not to say it’s a car without merit. To those who fear Bentley is
turning into the footballers’ department of Volkswagen, it is as refreshing
and inspiring as a traditional luxury convertible can be.
The interior is trimmed with slabs of walnut as standard, but if there’s a
particular tree in your garden you’d like to see on your dashboard instead,
Bentley will send someone round with an axe. Similarly, if you’d rather
something other than a cow gave up its skin for you to sit on, that’s no
problem. They’ve already upholstered cars with hides from buffalo to
ostrich, and so long as you’re prepared to pay they will consider anything
that’s not endangered. Lizard, anyone? Once inside, you fire the engine and
instead of the VW-designed motor used in lesser Bentleys you spark into life
a 6.75 litre V8 engine which has so much torque at so few revs that its
gearbox has just four ratios — the new Lexus LS 460 has eight — and needs no
more. It has so much power it will propel this 2.7-ton beast to 60mph in
5.9sec and all the way to 168mph.
And if you decide to drive it on its doorhandles as any true Bentley Boy
would, you’ll find the Azure surprisingly tolerant. For something so large
it handles quite well and is so well mannered that if you turn the traction
control off and hurl it into a corner it’ll register its objection not by
throwing you off the road but by quietly setting fire to its rear tyres.
But for all the speed, this is a million miles away from being a truly
sporting Bentley. So it’s best just to let the Azure glide, for this is a
car that’s as elegant wafting gently along as it is parked at some fashion
hotspot. Its deportment is flawless and it rides well enough for everyday
bumps that might make a less well-engineered convertible shake appear not to
exist.
There’s little buffeting from the wind with the roof down and even less noise
from it when, 26sec after you’ve made the request, the roof latches into
place. If you’re doing less than 20mph, you don’t even have to stop.
Of course £222,500 is a ridiculous price to pay for such a car, not least when
for the same money you could have a Mercedes S-class limo, a Ferrari F430, a
Caterham CSR and some change. But Azure owners don’t think like this:
Bentley’s research shows they already each have between five and 12 cars.
However, what they won’t have is a new luxury convertible capable of
carrying four adults in comfort because, until the Azure came along, one
didn’t exist.
It may be crazily expensive, disastrously thirsty and, by ultimate standards,
neither that fast nor fun to drive. But it is unique and, in this era of
ever increasing automotive conformity, that counts for a lot. Of that at
least the Bentley Boys would have been proud.
THE OPPOSITION
Model Aston Martin DB9 Volante £115,850
For World’s best looking convertible, sounds amazing
Against Fiddly dash, not as good to drive as the coupé
Model Mercedes-Benz SL 65 AMG £148,955
For Comically fast, folding hard top, practicality
Against Very expensive, lacks image of Aston or Bentley