Consumption doesn't get much more conspicuous than this. And if the $750,000 combined price of the Bentley Azure and the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé is mind-boggling, so too is the ostentatious visibility of these similar and yet very different monolithic cabriolets.
Switching from a sedan or a coupe to a convertible is like swapping a pinstripe three-piece suit for a pair of swimming trunks. You're exposed, almost naked. And the world ogles and scrutinizes you, points fingers and turns heads, makes comments that you hear loud and clear, because there's no separation to protect the princes from the underlings.
Even at the very summit of Prestige Mountain, there exists a clear distinction - the Bentley Azure looks just as unattainably expensive as the open-air Rolls-Royce, but in real life, its flash factor is literally dwarfed by the Phantom Drophead Coupé, which is eight inches longer and four inches taller. Although they occupy the same tiny niche, these two cars are almost antagonistic in character and build. The Rolls is BMW's interpretation of ultimate English luxury. It has German genes and an English tailor, which makes it cosmopolitan enough to attract a truly global clientele.... Read full article