West Coast Classics are proud to present an absolutely stunning and exceptional example of this original southern California owner's second generation Bentley Azure, a 2007 Bentley Azure 6.75L Twin Turbocharged V8 Convertible and one of only 125 built for US export in the 2007 production year and a superb Bentley which was still being hand built at the legendary Bentley Crewe factory. Volkswagen purchased the Bentley company from Vickers in 1998 and kept the first generation Bentley Azure production at Crewe rolling until 2002 when production ceased, with the last cars being sold in the year 2003. Starting in 2006, the new Volkswagen owned Bentley Company began building a second generation Azure series at Crewe with the final Azure rolling off the production line in 2010.
This particular example was specially factory ordered with the following options:
Silverlake Exterior Color Paint
Magnolia Leather interior
19" 7-Spoke Alloy Wheels $3,490
Burr Oak Veneer $2,690
Reversing Camera to Satellite Navigation Screen $2,490
Wood & Leather Steering Wheel (Straight Grained) $2,390
Frame Style Inlay to Waistrails $1,340
Two-Tone Fascia Top Roll $240
This particular pristine Azure is very superbly striking in its original factory 'Silverlake' color with a beautiful 'Magnolia' leather interior with a 'Royal Blue' carpeting and trunk and a matching Light Blue power soft top. This is a one southern California owned car since new which has obviously always been garaged since new with no accidents or damage history and a clean CARFAX report. It was obviously owned by only one very careful and meticulous driver since new - never abused! The only imperfection worth mentioning is a very small paint scrape on the passenger side lower front air dam (see photos below) which is very typical on these low riding cars and which we have presently decided not to paint. It could obviously be easily painted at a very minimal cost if desired.
The car was purchased by its original and only southern California owner on 5/11/2007 at 'Bentley of Rancho Mirage', the Rolls Royce & Bentley dealership in the Palm Springs desert city of Rancho Mirage, California. The car was always dealer serviced since new, primarily at 'Beverly Hills Rolls Royce' of Beverly Hills, CA and it drives exactly like such a well maintained and serviced 11K original miles Bentley Azure should and must be driven to be fully appreciated and seen to be believed!
Bentley's history is associated with luxury and grace but another attribute is of course high performance. The Azure debuted in 1995 priced at $347,645 as the most expensive convertible on the road and was powered with the company's stalwart colossal turbocharged 6.75 litre V8 producing 400HP, 645 lb/ft torque and exhilarating acceleration of 0-60mph in only 6.1 seconds - quite a remarkable feat for a car of it's weight and size! The Azure's thick powered convertible top was designed and manufactured by Pininfarina which significantly added to the vehicle's cost. The adaptive suspension firms up the shock absorbers in fast turns and returns to softer settings for normal driving situations. VW purchased Bentley in 1998, three years into production of the Mark 1 model. Volkswagen executives decided to keep the then-current Azure in production until 2003, then release its successor at a later date. Production of the new second generation Azure began for the 2006 model year.
Now based on the Arnage platform, power came from the then-current variant of the Bentley turbocharged V8 making 450 hp and 645 lbft of torque. However, due to strained relationships between the two manufacturers, Volkswagen was forced to significantly re-work the 'original' 6.75-liter Rolls-Royce/Bentley V8 in 2001, including a switch from the old single-turbo system to a modern twin-turbocharger setup, reducing turbo-lag and increasing horsepower output. A new, model-specific six-speed automatic transmission fed power to the rear wheels.
It turns out that the Bentley Azure brings you two particular things so characteristic of England. First, it's exclusive, as only 125 were built for America in 2007. Second, stubborn British craftsmen with incredible pride build the Azure by hand, and this gives the car something approaching a soul and it's twin turbos help deliver 450 horsepower at 4,100 rpm, but the crucial ingredient is torque, a staggering 645 pound-feet at just 1,800 rpm. Perhaps it seems unseemly to speak in terms of crude measurements of performance like acceleration to 60 mph, yet we'll tell you the Azure completes the task in 5.6 seconds and will whistle all the way to 171 mph, slightly faster than the previous edition and extraordinary for a vehicle of this size and weight..
You will surely look long and hard to find a finer example of this second generation Crewe hand built 2007 Bentley Azure Convertible! For those who are unfamiliar, Rolls Royce and Bentley no longer exist as they had for over one hundred years - this is one of the last in the original line of cars hand built in the legendary Rolls Royce/Bentley factory in Crewe, England with a quality and craftsmanship that far surpasses that of today's mass produced models with many BMW parts - this is a rare opportunity to own a piece of automobile history, from a time when Rolls Royce and Bentley were truly building the world's finest motor cars.
