Bentley Azure T: imperious luxury

Bentley has got luxury down to a 'T' - meet the Azure T, a new high-performance version of the ultimate money-no-object cabrio.

Under the expansive bonnet is the firm's long-serving 6.75-litre twin-turbo V8. However, power is now wound up to 500bhp – that's 11 per cent more than the standard Azure – and there's 1,000Nm of torque to play with, so acceleration is incredible.

Push your right foot to the thick carpet and, with little more than a whistle from the turbos, you're whisked from 0-62mph in 5.5 seconds. It's an amazing sensation considering the car's 2.7-tonne kerbweight, but you'll pay the price at the pumps. Single-figure economy is more than likely, especially if you cover significant miles in town.

Turn a corner and there's little evidence of chassis flex, thanks to new carbon fibre cross-members at the front and rear. There's no hiding the Azure's size and weight, though. Even with the suspension set to Sport mode, it is best to save the storming performance for when you're pointing straight ahead.

The T's exterior tweaks include a retractable bonnet badge and a tinted front grill, while sumptuous diamond-quilted leather trim and drilled alloy pedals give the cabin an extra dash of opulence.

The electrically powered three-layer top folds majestically behind the rear seats in 25 seconds. However we had problems with the roof mechanism of our test model – and that's something you simply wouldn't expect from a car costing a quarter of a million pounds.