While Bentley dubbed it a concept, the luxury marque's CEO Dr. Franz-Josef Paefgen admitted that production of the
convertible Arnage would start in spring 2006 "if public reaction to the concept is favourable".
The Bentley CEO added, "We had such amazing success with the Bentley Azure, which has developed a cult following although production stopped in 2003. There's no reason why this new Arnage derivative couldn't fill the gap left by the Azure. If customer demand is there, it could go into production within a very short space of time - as early as spring 2006."
Of course, in this league a favourable reaction needed to be a great deal more than oohs and ahs from show-goers passing by the Bentley stand, but rather deposit checks written for a vehicle that will reach far beyond a $300,000 purchase price when it would go on sale. This said, prices for the Azure
have not yet been set, but will become known closer to when the vehicle becomes available for sale.
Despite an expected Continental convertible, the much more expensive Azure still makes a lot of sense. The previous Azure did very well, due to its extreme exclusivity, caused by a price that was much greater than a Continental GT based convertible isexpected to fetch, and being that Bentley updated its flagship sedan at great expense for the 2005 model year, a derivative product built off of its architecture would incur relatively low development costs and therefore reasonable potential profits even with low volume sales. To this end Paefgen commented, "The 2005 Arnage range has been extensively re-engineered at significant cost and is a very modern, high-technology saloon. It is natural, therefore, that we would use this base to further our reputation as the pre-eminent builder of large, luxury convertibles in the world."
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| "If customer demand is there, it could go into production within a very short space of time - as early as spring 2006," avered Bentley CEO Dr. Franz-Josef Paefgen when the concept was unveiled in L.A. (Photo: Bentley Motors) |
The Bentley CEO added, "We had such amazing success with the Bentley Azure, which has developed a cult following although production stopped in 2003. There's no reason why this new Arnage derivative couldn't fill the gap left by the Azure. If customer demand is there, it could go into production within a very short space of time - as early as spring 2006."
Of course, in this league a favourable reaction needed to be a great deal more than oohs and ahs from show-goers passing by the Bentley stand, but rather deposit checks written for a vehicle that will reach far beyond a $300,000 purchase price when it would go on sale. This said, prices for the Azure
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| "The 2005 Arnage range (which will share its general architecture with the new Azure), has been extensively re-engineered at significant cost and is a very modern, high-technology saloon," added Paefgen. (Photo: Bentley Motors) |
Despite an expected Continental convertible, the much more expensive Azure still makes a lot of sense. The previous Azure did very well, due to its extreme exclusivity, caused by a price that was much greater than a Continental GT based convertible isexpected to fetch, and being that Bentley updated its flagship sedan at great expense for the 2005 model year, a derivative product built off of its architecture would incur relatively low development costs and therefore reasonable potential profits even with low volume sales. To this end Paefgen commented, "The 2005 Arnage range has been extensively re-engineered at significant cost and is a very modern, high-technology saloon. It is natural, therefore, that we would use this base to further our reputation as the pre-eminent builder of large, luxury convertibles in the world."