2002 Bentley Azure

Up to this point in history, Bentley's basic architecture and resurgence were shared with other Rolls-Royce products. That changed in 1985 when the Project 90 was put on display at the Geneva Auto Show. It was a mocked-up high-performance coupe that was unique to Bentley. Six years later, the model entered production as the Continental R. Its styling was created with the assistance of consultants International Automotive Design, wind tunnel testing, and computer-aided technology. It received features such as doors recessed into the roof, and a new four-speed automatic gearbox with an 'overdrive' top ratio. Performance was impressive, with zero-to-sixty mph accomplished in 5.6 seconds.

A soft-top version of the Bentley Continental R followed four years after the Coupe's introduction. It was launched at the Geneva Auto Show and was named the Azure, making it the first Bentley model in several decades to use an entirely new name. Pininfarina had been chosen to develop the Azure on the four-seater Continental R platform. Bodyshells were assembled in Italy by Pininfarina, fitted with the automatic soft-top, painted and shipped back for finishing at Crewe. The mechanical aspects of the vehicle were similar to the Continental R, but with an uprated twin-turbocharged engine offering 385 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque. The 4-speed automatic transmission sent power through the rear wheels to the road. The front and rear suspension was independent with speed-proportional power steering, 4-wheel ABS-equipped ventilated disc brakes, and 5-spoke chrome-finish alloy wheels with Pirelli P-Zero tires. Top speed was in excess of 170 mph.

The interior featured hand-crafted leather, power-operated seats with position memory, power locks, power windows, remote mirrors, trunk release, conditioning and CD stereo. The dash, door panels, and console were accented by brushed and engine-turned aircraft aluminum.

The Azure was launched in 1995 and cost £215,000 in the UK. Production of the first generation Azure continued until 2003 with a total of 1,403 examples of all types built. 78 examples were hand-crafted into existence at Mulliner Park Ward in 2002. The 'Mulliner' trim added bespoke trim, additional equipment, and further customization by the buyer. The Second generation Azure, called the Azure Mark II, was produced from 2006-2009.

by Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2019