Bentley Continental R Mulliner, Brooklands and Azure T: a new era

By Martin Buckley

| 12 Mar 2025

Classic & Sports Car – Bentley Continental R Mulliner, Brooklands and Azure T: a new era

As well as perpetuating the important commercial success of the Continental R (1854 examples sold over 12 years), the Bentley Azure and Brooklands were conceived to reaffirm the make’s status, under German ownership, as a standalone luxury name.

Not just hand-finished, but truly elite, handmade cars: a credible attempt to reinvent the glamour of the genuinely coachbuilt models of the 1950s and ’60s for 21st-century sensibilities.

At nearly three tons, the two-door, 18ft-long, four-seater hardtop Brooklands was roomier inside than any contemporary coupé, with nearly as much headroom in the back as the Arnage on which it was based.

The Bentley Continental R Mulliner runs on the regular-length wheelbase rather than the 4in-shorter option used by the T variant

The wheelbase was the same as that of the decade-old four-door, so 6ft 2in plutocrats could lounge in its twin adjustable rear seats with legroom to spare, and it carried over the double-wishbone, adaptively damped suspension (but with tighter spring rates) and the six-speed ZF automatic gearbox with lock-up torque converter.

To retain rigidity, the old Continental R had a B-post: the Brooklands was Bentley’s first pillarless hardtop, hinting strongly that Crewe now had the technological muscle to build a truly stiff body, with or without a central roof pillar.

Much was made of the fact that the ‘floating’ appearance of the rear ’screen could only be achieved by hand-welding the rear wings to the C-post.

The limited-edition Bentley Continental R Mulliner Final Series got 18in alloy wheels

A full 16 cowhides were used to trim the interior (including a whole one for the headlining alone), but the 374-litre boot caught some flak for being on the shallow side.

Powered by a twin-turbo V8, the Brooklands was said to have the highest peak torque of any production eight-cylinder unit at the time: 774lb ft from a refreshed, twin-low-inertia-turbo version of the already venerable 6.75-litre all-aluminium V8, which, at 530bhp, was producing nearly 200% more power than the 6.2-litre original of 1959.

A reprofiled camshaft and tweaks to the timing were chief among dozens of other changes, detail and not so detail, in the name of more power, better refinement and fewer emissions.

But the camshaft was still gear- rather than belt- or chain-driven, and still working valves by way of pushrods to give 90% of its peak torque between 1800 and 3800rpm.

The Continental R Mulliner’s drilled pedals are common to this Bentley trio

It was good for nearly 190mph and 0-60mph in 5 secs, and it was almost worn as a badge of honour that, like the Azure convertible on which it was based, the 9mpg Brooklands was the thirstiest private car sold in North America, according to the US Department of Energy.

That’s city driving and American gallons, mind you, which are smaller than ours: you would break double figures in British imperial measurements and get up to 18mpg at a gentle cruise.

And owners were more likely to be interested in the fact that the 96-litre fuel tank would manage 321 miles between fill-ups.

While I am not averse to a large, luxurious two-door car, for me the Brooklands, first seen at the Geneva Salon in 2006, always looked a bit of an over-egged pudding.

The Bentley Continental R Mulliner’s turbocharged, all-alloy V8 makes 420bhp

In contrast, the second-generation Azure, as a lavish four-place convertible with the same styling below the waist, appeared to have more of a purpose in life.

Inevitably the gubbins required to accommodate the hood robbed the boot of luggage space, though: now down to 310 litres.

It first appeared in concept form as the Arnage Convertible at the 2005 Los Angeles Auto Show and was a production reality for the Frankfurt unveiling by autumn, complete with carbonfibre chassis reinforcements and a three-layer hood that stowed very neatly (and electro-hydraulically) in just 30 secs.

The Bentley Continental R Mulliner feels a touch more mechanical than the Brooklands and Azure T

The Brooklands had the louche appeal of a personal vehicle that was purely recreational and hedonistic.

Like the Azure, it was a car to be seen in, to drive oneself in.

The Brooklands owner, had he or she required the practicality of rear doors, doubtless had a fleet of more everyday luxury vehicles from which to choose.

Bentley’s marketing department calculated that its target Brooklands customer might own as many as 14 other cars.

The size and heft of the Bentley Brooklands belie its agility

This Anthracite Grey Brooklands from the Bentley Heritage collection was produced in January 2010 and was the very last one built.

Ditto the Venusian Grey Azure, a T variant (introduced in 2008) with the 500bhp/738lb ft V8, a billet fuel cap and 20in alloys.

It is one of just two produced at the beginning of 2010.

To compare and contrast during our time at the company’s rapidly expanding Pym’s Lane site, Bentley laid on a Continental R coupé of the 1991-2003 generation, in this case a Mulliner edition (one of 191 built) with the 420bhp V8 in the normal-wheelbase coupé shell rather than the 4in-shorter Continental T.

Wheel size increased to 20in for the VW-era Bentley Brooklands

This is one of 11 Final Series cars built in 2003, with quilted leather and black, lacquered wood.

As the first Bentley to have a body unique to it since the early 1960s, this handsome two-door had finished the process of giving the marque an identity separate from Rolls-Royce.

The older car, even in wide-body guise, is more self-effacing and compact than the lardy Brooklands and Azure, but the John Heffernan/Ken Greenley Continental R design is honoured by Dirk van Braeckel in the shape of the bootlid and the curved hip over the rear wheels.

In all cases, the long, heavy doors have tactile pushbutton outer handles and twin releases inside to service rear occupants.

The Bentley Brooklands’ rich leather trim amounts to 16 full cowhides

The earlier Mulliner feels quite narrow compared with the Brooklands/Azure (there is 10% less shoulder room), and its looming dashboard is dominated by a central stack of chrome-rimmed minor gauges, a separate starter button and the classic ‘organ stop’-regulated ventilation outlets.

The seats in all are firmer and sportier in feel than you might expect, but offer commanding views forward and reasonable over-the-shoulder vision – even with the fat C-pillar that comes with the swoopy Brooklands roofline.

In the Brooklands and Azure you can drop or raise all four side windows with a single chrome button.

The diamond-patterned leather is inviting, the sweep of wood and chrome-edged dials as magnificent as the fully adjustable steering wheels used in both cases look ordinary.

Inside the Bentley Brooklands, chrome-rimmed buttons and opulent materials abound

Conversely, the drilled-aluminium throttle, brake and parking-brake pedals in all three try a bit too hard to look ‘heritage’.

Such cynical thoughts are soon brushed away by the sweeping authority of the acceleration of these unnaturally aspirated Bentleys.

Squatting its tail and lifting its nose, the firm-riding Continental R Mulliner has a handier feel and all the power you could ever want.

But it can’t match the composure offered by the 21st-century cars, where a Volkswagen-funded development budget allowed the contrasting requirements of ride and handling to be brilliantly reconciled.

Epic thrust makes the Bentley Brooklands effortless to drive

The steering of the Brooklands is light but well-damped and communicative, road noise is nicely isolated and the brakes are magnificent.

That vehicles this large and heavy can move this quickly, turn in this neatly and cover the ground with such a light touch defies logic.

They leave you with an impression of epic, instant torque and relentless, silky thrust: urge that feels dramatic only in the sense that the scenery is moving past the windows at an ever-increasing rate.

The Bentley Azure T (closest) uses a 500bhp, 738lb ft incarnation of the marque’s long-serving, 6.75-litre, pushrod V8

The older car remains a fantastic drive, but you can feel the gearchanges and hear the rush of air being inhaled as it lunges through its ratios.

The Brooklands, with the windows raised, gives out a remote and occasional breathy whoosh; top up, the Azure is almost as quiet.

Floor the throttle and 30-50mph takes less than 2 secs in the Brooklands, and you are up to 100mph in the time it takes most mortal cars to get to 60.

The convertible is 30bhp adrift, but there is no practical difference I could identify on the road.

The Bentley Azure T is impressively rigid for a drop-top

The rev counters in all of these Bentleys are redlined at 4500rpm, but you never get anywhere near that.

It seemed superfluous to engage the Sport modes for the gearbox or the suspension, and in the later cars I was very happy with the gentle ride and the occasional bump-thump from the 255/40 R20 tyres.

Also impressive is the lack of body shake exhibited by the Azure, which is a truly special place to be in with the top lowered.

Bentley claimed the body was four times stiffer than that of the earlier, Continental R-based Azure.

Extra chrome and details on the Bentley Azure T

Now more beloved of corner-shop owners than Premier League footballers, the 2003-’11, VW Phaeton-based Bentley Continental GTs were not exactly accessibly priced.

The Brooklands and Azure were pitched a level above, at those more sensitive to exclusivity than cost.

Being born into the era of the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren and Bugatti Veyron, it is a surprise to find that the £230,000 Brooklands didn’t even make the top 10 most expensive cars when production started in 2008; a variety of bespoke details and finishes could boost that total easily by £30,000.

A retractable Flying B on the radiator shell, for instance, was a £2250 option, ceramic discs an incredible £20,000 extra, although they were said to last the life of the car.

The Bentley Azure T offers firm but supportive seats and a commanding view out

They might have been worth the money, because brake fade – after successive high-energy stops – was a recurring theme of Brooklands and Azure road tests in the early 2000s: Autocar’s 2006 observation that the 168mph, £226,000 Azure weighed as much as three Renaultsport Clios illustrated the point well.

As a giant, super-luxury ragtop, the Azure did not have a competitor until Rolls-Royce introduced its Phantom Drophead Coupé in 2007, priced a full £55,000 stronger than the Arnage T.

True Brooklands rivals were the likes of Ferrari’s 612 Scaglietti and Mercedes-Benz’s CL65 AMG, both significantly cheaper.

The Bentley Azure T’s classic ‘organ stop’ controls are a blast from the past

The first year’s production sold out rapidly, but, having been born into the teeth of a recession, the Brooklands turned out to be more exclusive than Bentley had intended: only 400 of the 550 cars planned were produced, and only 97 of those were for the UK, where values have held up well.

The 2006-’10 Azure fared a little better with 787 built, peaking at 350 annual units in 2007.

The Azure name had its origins in one of Robert Jankel’s two-door Silver Spirit drop-tops built for the Sultan of Brunei, and it was carried over from the earlier generation based on the Continental R.

‘The Bentley Azure T captured the flavour of south of France luxury and decadence perfectly’

It captured the flavour of south of France luxury and decadence perfectly, whereas the Brooklands moniker felt a touch laboured.

Brand associations with the historic banked circuit in Surrey are well understood, but for me they also conjure up images of a crumbling trading estate as much as the Castrol R-clouded racing glory of the 1920s ‘WO’ era.

Luckily for Bentley, the likes of yours truly was not the target audience.

Today, I’m not certain if that audience exists in the same way.

The rise of the exotic, super-luxury SUV, and the success of the Continental GT, has made dinosaurs out of both the Azure and the Brooklands.

The Bentley Azure T is a giant, super-luxurious drop-top

Perhaps they were born dinosaurs.

Like maybe half a dozen ultimate personal cars of the past 70 years or so, they were a last gasp of a grand – or, perhaps more accurately, bloated – tradition of exclusive, opulent two-door models built around the premise that more can only equal more.

It’s the idea that no amount of luxury can be excessive or pointless, that you can never have enough power and that, within the finite limits imposed by the practical restrictions of length, girth and weight that are usable on the public road, bigger just has to be better.

Images: John Bradshaw

Factfiles

Bentley Continental R Mulliner

Sold/number built 1999-2003/131
Construction steel monocoque
Engine all-alloy, ohv 6750cc V8, with Garrett T04B turbo and fuel injection
Max power 420bhp @ 4000rpm
Max torque 650lb ft @ 2000rpm
Transmission four-speed automatic, RWD
Suspension independent, at front by wishbones, anti-roll bar rear semi-trailing arms, self-levelling; coil springs, electronic dampers f/r
Steering power-assisted rack and pinion
Brakes vented front, solid rear discs, with servo and ABS
Length 17ft 6¼in (5342mm)
Width 6ft 9in (2058mm)
Height 4ft 9½in (1462mm)
Wheelbase 9ft 10¾in (3016mm)
Weight 5295lb (2402kg)
Mpg 13
0-60mph 5.6 secs
Top speed 170mph
Price new £230,000
Price now £100k*