Bentley Azure

Using the Continental R as a base, Bentley collaborated with the Italian stylist Pininfarina to come up with the luxurious 1995 two-door convertible Azure. Pininfarina also helped design the folding roof which stowed away neatly behind l hi' rear seats. The car used a strengthened version of the Continental R's monocoque chassis, and to keep their new ideal of 'spirited driving' alive, Bentley put adaptive shock absorbers at each corner and self-levelling suspension at the real*.

Braking was handled by 13.4-inch (340mm) discs brakes which were assisted by Bosch ABS. The engine was all about torque, being a turbocharged version of the long-running Cosworth tuned Rolls Royce V8, the Garret turbo running an Intercooler too. This remains one of the torquiest production engines ever. It was also one of the biggest four seaters you could buy, being 17.5ft (5.3m) long.