- IL offers early photos of the future Bentley Azure.
- The new convertible will be based on the Mulsanne sedan.
- The Azure drop top will likely hit the market a year after the Mulsanne.
DETROIT — As the Bentley Arnage wafts gently into that good night, it will take the Azure convertible version of the big Bentley with it, eventually. Oh dear! How will Bentley get by with only the Continental GT convertible in the lineup?
It won't. As the bug-eyed Mulsanne sedan gets set to take over for the Arnage, so will a two-door drop-top version of the Mulsanne take over for the Azure. With the investment Bentley has made in its Crewe facility to build the Mulsanne, it only makes sense that the automaker will build more than one variation to spread the cost around.
In all likelihood, the convertible will keep the name Azure, and it will also share the sedan's 6.8-liter twin-turbo V8 that produces a not-insubstantial 505 horsepower. That's enough to scoot this great heaping monument to wealth to 60 mph in just over 5 seconds. The Azure, which should become available about a year after the Mulsanne hits the market, will also use the sedan's eight-speed automatic. The Azure, like the Mulsanne, will offer as many different varieties of wood veneer trim as the transmission offers gears.
We're still not feeling the Gatling-gun headlights, but cutting the roof off the Mulsanne and tightening up the dimensions a little, as we have in our photo illustration, work wonders on the thing.
Look for our First Drive story on the Mulsanne sedan soon.
Inside Line says: Insane in the Mulsanne; Insane in the Brain. We've been waiting some time to use that line. Carry on, then. — Daniel Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit
Add A Comment »
ne2rkid says:
11:37 AM, 05/10/2010
@fortstring, someone who owns a house already.
epbrown says:
07:34 PM, 05/06/2010
campi3ell says: "Curiously you can add preachers to the list also. One of the Bishops here in Atlanta has his and hers Bentleys, while another was given a Rolls Royce by the congregation. It's all just conspicuous consumption."
I'll admit it - I was a Rolls-Royce owner for a few years, though I bought mine used (off of eBay, no less). One of the most common remarks I got was "Our pastor has one (or two) of those!" That always struck me as sort of odd. Makes a strong case for including the clergy in the entertainment industry... ;)
fortstring says:
02:41 PM, 05/05/2010
Who actually buys these kinda cars? I sure as hell wouldn't, even if I made that kinda bank. Might as well buy a house lol. Plus, Bentleys do nothing to stir my soul. (And I'll probably get bashed by some Bentley nut out there for exercising my 1st amendment rights.)
cz_75 says:
09:10 PM, 05/03/2010
"You seem to hate everything. Just use your CZ_75 like a Q-tip and 'scratch' your brain already "
I'd rather use it on you, Iceberg.
campi3ell says:
12:09 AM, 05/01/2010
@epbrown:
Now they do make huge sales from "new money" given that the entire line-up has been redesigned. However the buyer of the Continental and the buyer of the Arnage--now Mulsanne-- are of different mind-sets. Athletes and celebrities are the ones we see driving them more, because they have to show off how well they spend their money and how much of it they have. Curiously you can add preachers to the list also. One of the Bishops here in Atlanta has his and hers Bentleys, while another was given a Rolls Royce by the congregation. It's all just conspicuous consumption
epbrown says:
08:28 PM, 04/29/2010
campi3ell says: "I do love how claiming that simply working hard will earn one the multi-million dollar net worth the typical Bentley buyer has."
There's some irony in that. Bentley and RR make most of their sales to new money from the entertainment/sports industries or old money that was inherited rather than worked for. Most people that work for a living and make some dough shop Cadillac, Lexus, or Mercedes-Benz.
alpine6speed says:
09:07 AM, 04/29/2010
The wheels are great looking. The car would look a lot better if it was s*** brown.
bigmuggle says:
02:13 AM, 04/29/2010
jb68902 says: "Cars like this are symbols of starting with nothing and becoming everything... I appreciate cars like this, cars like my S-Class, because they tell the world that when you work and pursue success you can really have the good life."
That is really *not* what the world is thinking when they see you drive by. Trust me on this.
bigmuggle says:
02:06 AM, 04/29/2010
What is the "photo rendering" you mention in the caption? Is it a real photo or is it not a real photo? Same deal with the Sonata Coupe from a few days ago. Why do I get the feeling that IL is paying some high school kid to photoshop cars in his mother's basement? Hey, it's cheaper than doing real journalism! Isn't there an editor at IL who's going to stand up and say, "Now come on guys, that's not journalism." Is there anyone at the helm of IL anymore? It used to be much higher quality...
cah11705 says:
05:23 PM, 04/28/2010
I prefer the front end of the current Azure but think the rear of this rendering is pretty elegant. I would take this over a Drophead Coupe, which just seems way less elegant than this Bentley.