** Regretfully Withdrawn ** 2000 Bentley Azure

** Regretfully Withdrawn **

Introduced in 1995, the Bentley Azure was based on the platform of the Continental 'R' Coupé 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 remarkable 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 option list was deliciously indulgent, but the base price was around £200,000 when new.

Dispatched from Crewe in 2000 and destined for warmer climes, this lovely, left-hand drive Azure is finished in Silver with a complementing Grey leather with Walnut trim and presents superbly today. Bought by our vendor, an international businessman, the car was returned to British shores from his home in Los Angeles and registered with the DVLA in 2016, at which point all UK taxes were settled. The odometer currently indicates some 28,600 miles and the MOT is valid until March 2017.

This very impressive motor car is guided very sensibly and is perfectly suited for cruising on the continent or would look completely at home parked outside a villa in Marbella or on the quay in Saint-Tropez.