Bentley Azure

Bentley Recalls the Flying B Hood Ornament

Ever take a look at a hood ornament and wonder what would happen if you got hit by a car with one? Some of the most upscale offerings from the likes of Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Maybach and Jaguar offer them, but they're all designed to fold down or retract entirely in the event of a pedestrian collision. Apparently Bentley's having a little trouble with theirs, though, prompting the US National Highway Transportation Safety Administration to issue a recall on the famous Flying B.

The issue involves rust around the hood ornament preventing it from retracting in such an event. The recall affects less than 600 examples of the Arnage, Azure and Brooklands made between 2007 and 2009. Bentley's produced more than that many in those three years, but the hood ornament is an optional accessory that some buyers choose to do without. But if you've got one with it, you should be getting notice from your local dealership in short order with instructions on how to get yours replaced free of charge.

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Tags: bentley, bentley arnage, bentley azure, bentley brooklands, flying b, hood ornament, nhtsa, recall, safety recall

What Next for the Bentley Azure Convertible?

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

If you're looking for a top-of-the-line convertible, you're choices are essentially limited to the Rolls-Royce Phantom DropHead Coupe or the Bentley Azure. But even that's about to change as Bentley is canceling the Azure. The question is, what will replace it?

The Azure – based on a twelve-year-old platform – is being phased out as the company puts its energy into the new Mulsanne limousine. Rumor has it that a new convertible version is planned, but in a particularly intriguing twist, the next Azure could gain a couple of doors and revive the long-lost four-door convertible segment. These vehicles, once known as "parade cars", were at the pinnacle of luxury, and if Bentley brings it back – as Mercedes recently entertained with the Ocean Drive concept – we could be looking at a new level of open-air motoring.

Gallery: Bentley Azure T

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Tags: azure, bentley, bentley azure, cabriolet, convertible

All Bentley Continental Models to be Flex-Fuel-Capable in June

by Jeremy Korzeniewski (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Green

2011 Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible – Click above for high-res image gallery

It may not be the most interesting news you read all week, but we now have a date at which all Bentley Continentals will be able to gulp down whiskey with the best of 'em: June. Well, not exactly whiskey, but ethanol's pretty close. Bentley had made the announcement (sans date) at the Geneva Motor Show when it showed off the Continental Supersports Convertible.

Bentley sees this move as a big first step in reaching its stated goal of offering an entirely biofuel-capable lineup by 2012. In its latest form, Bentley's twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter W12 offers up 621 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. That's sufficient to push the big Conti' to 60 miles per hour in 3.9 seconds and on up to a top speed of 202 mph.

As the Continental is Bentley's most popular model line by far, this means that over half of all cars the luxury brand sells this year will be flex-fuel models. For those keeping track, the Brooklands coupe (which will soon be discontinued), Azure sedan and the soon-to-be-released Mulsanne sedan (the replacement for the long-running Arnage) are still not yet biofuel capable. According to Automotive News, the Mulsanne will be E85-capable shortly after its launch later this year.

Gallery: Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req'd]

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New Bentley Mulsanne is Only the Beginning

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

That the new Bentley Mulsanne represents a fresh start for the British luxury automaker is well known. Starting with a clean sheet of paper, the designers and engineers in Crewe completely redesigned the company's flagship saloon from the ground up. But the Mulsanne isn't where it ends, as industry sources forecast that the new sedan will also form the basis for new replacements for the Azure convertible and Brooklands coupe, both of which are based on the outgoing Arnage platform which was designed back in the late 90's when the company was still owned by Vickers Aerospace.

It remains to be seen when the replacements for the Azure and Brooklands will come along, but the new platform could also end up underpinning sister company Bugatti's upcoming model as well.

Gallery: 2010 Bentley Mulsanne