MAISON&OBJET; - DalCasa

MotoAzure SkiesBased on the Arnage coupe, the new Bentley Azure is a highly positioned item on everymultimillionaire’s shopping list. Although its overall shape carries on with the glorioustradition of the classical Bentley design, it also introduces a new definition of the hightechnology wrapped in rustical presenceWritten by: Ivan MladinaFor those who don’t know - Bentley is a famous Brittishsports car manufacturer established in 1919.Bentleys achieved four consecutive wins at the LeMans Race and were among the most expensiveand most respectable cars in the world. During the GreatDepression and the lack of demand for extravagantcars though, the company came into trouble. It is boughtby Rolls-Royce, that only used the Bentley brandto sell its own models, only with a different grille and alower price tag. It remained that way up until the Eighties,when Bentley again starts making its own, exclusivemodels. The original Azure, produced from 1995 to 2003,could often be seen at posh resorts and was a car-ofchoiceof American hip-hop stars. By the end of the Nineties,Rolls-Royce and Bentley get purchased by BMWand Volkswagen, respectively.Nowadays, Rolls-Royce and Bentley, once upon atime the symbols of Brittish car prestige, are owned byGermans, Aston Martin and Land Rover are owned byFord, while Rover is Chinese. Still, the traditionalists donot need to worry. Bentley Azure is back, better thanever!Based on the Arnage coupe, the new Bentley Azureis a highly positioned item on every multimillionaire’sshopping list. Although its overall shape carries on withthe glorious tradition of the classical Bentley design, it50also introduces a new definition of the high technologywrapped in rustical presence.It is huge, to begin with. Nearly five and a half metres longand over two metres wide, the Azure looks truly intimidating.Deep body with a single feature line on both sidesgently rising with the rear wheel arches, characteristicallyvertical and massive front clearly expressing Bentleysopinion on aerodynamics, are the signature features ofBentley design. Triple-layered canvas roof’s silhouette,three and a half centimeters lower than on the Arnage,appears agressive yet fluid and at the same time.Perhaps you’ll wonder how is it possible that a car thatcosts nearly a quarter of a million pounds, has a canvastop instead of the today more fashionable folding metalroof. Well, according to the statistics, the average Bentleyowner already has eight other cars in the garage. Itis therefore assumed that on a rainy day, the owner willprobably take the Mercedes. Or the Ferrary. Or the Porsche.In any case, folding metal roof would require a vastammount of bootspace, and would inevitably result in‘’fattening’’ of the car’s rear end, the reason why manyof today’s coupe-convertibles look somewhat awkward.Naturally, the Bentley’s canvas top is very well capableof preventing any undesired outside influence to the occupants.Even the hefty 25 seconds it takes to fold downdo not seem inappropriate because, although the BMW