1997 Bentle+y Azure

• Initially registered on the 24/09/1997 to the first of five owners, current since 2014
• Supplied in the classic colours of dark blue over cream leather with a blue mohair hood
• The Bentley Azure was one of the most expensive production cars of its day
• With an odometer reading of some 14,000 miles (atoc) the car was last MOT'd in 2019
• This car has formed part of a large collection with little or no use. An element of recommissioning is to be expected to return it to the road once again

Introduced in 1995, the Bentley Azure was based on the platform of the Continental 'R' Coupe which had been launched originally in 1991. By definition, a fully strengthened luxury convertible to seat four adults very comfortably, accommodate their luggage and hide an engine sufficiently powerful to propel the entire ensemble towards the horizon in a linear fashion is never going to be a small car and the Azure often surprised with its substantial presence.

Power came from the company's stalwart 6.75-litre V8, fed by a single inter-cooled turbocharger producing in the region of 380bhp which, when mated to a General Motors-sourced, four-speed automatic gearbox enabled this superbly designed Bentley to silently waft up to 60mph in an impressive 6.1 seconds. Owing to the limited space at Bentley's Crewe factory, the Azure was assembled and finished by Pininfarina, significantly adding to the vehicle's production costs. The selling price varied, naturally, with the specification, the options list was deliciously indulgent, but the base price was around ú200,000 when new.

Initially registered on the 24th September 1997 to the first of five owners, the car has been part of a large private collection since 2014 and, consequently, hasn't had much in the way of maintenance or servicing and is best described as a