Bentley Azure Final Series: The Ultimate Valentine's Gift

At two and a half tonnes this is probably the heaviest declaration of love one could ask for, at 0-60 mph in six seconds the Bentley Azure Final Series is among the fastest of amorous accoutrements. And it is easily the most glamorous object that anyone could ever wish to receive as a Valentine’s gift.

Anyone who is fortunate enough to be given one of these astonishing convertibles as a symbol of devotion on Valentine’s day will, as well as being in possession of an extremely wealthy admirer, be joining an elite and reassuringly exclusive group of owners.

To become a Bentley driver is to join a stylish club of like-minded individuals, for whom the idea of supercar performance combined with uncompromising luxury is irresistible. To own and drive an Azure is to join a club within a club. Azure ownership is the charmed inner circle, the Royal enclosure, the VVIP area of motoring to which nothing on four wheels comes even remotely close. Those who own and drive these very special cars liken the experience of driving an Azure to piloting a powerboat or an aeroplane.

Over generations the convertible Bentley has evolved from the highly individual coach built cars of the marque’s early years; through the glamorous, high performance Continentals of the 1950s and early 1960s to the highly successful Mulliner Park Ward built cars of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s; but it was with the arrival of the Azure in the 1990s that the convertible Bentley reached its apotheosis.

In the Azure the sleek, sculptural glamour of the early coachbuilt convertibles is paired perfectly with the thrilling performance and long-legged, continent-crossing capabilities of a modern sporting Bentley.

Combining grace with a commanding presence; and in a world of mass-produced mundane modernity it is a statement of true individuality. There is a sheer wanton glamour about the Azure that for those with the time, the inclination, the money and the lust for life find impossible to resist.