LOS ANGELES – The economy has tanked, no one's buying cars anymore and the entire auto industry is in a tail-spin. But such things don't matter when you build cars that cost more than your neighbor's house, and Bentley's pulled the silk sheet off a convertible that brings new meaning to "over the top."

The limited-edition Azure T unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show is faster, more decadently appointed and, of course, more exclusive than the more, ahem, pedestrian model on which it is based. For $350,000 it damn well better be. From its gleaming chrome hood ornament to the diamond-tufted leather interior and bejeweled fuel filler — please, don't call it a gas cap — everything about the Azure T screams, "Recession? What recession?"

With 42 colors and 25 different leather interiors to choose from, you won't have to worry about your neighbor's Azure T looking just like yours.

“The new Azure T reflects our passion for creating the world’s most exhilarating and prestigious convertibles that, true to the Bentley T

tradition, blend sophistication with a powerful presence," says sales and marketing exec Stuart McCullough.

The Azure T offers you and three of your newest friends the chance to cruise in the most opulent luxury, and with a big honkin' hand-built twin-turbo V8 that propels the T — all 18 feet and 5,700 pounds of it — from 0 to 60 in a very impressive 5.2 seconds. Stomp it hard enough and you'll hit 100 mph in 12.1 seconds on your way up to 179 mph. If you find the roar of the wind overbearing at such a speed, just turn up the Azure's 1,100-watt stereo.

It's worth noting that the standard Azure is no slouch, either: It'll hit 60 mph in 5.6 seconds and top out at 171 mph.

The Azure isn’t the first Bentley to bear the high performance "T" designation — the 1996 Continental coupe was the first modern Bentley ‘T’, followed in 2002 by the Arnage T. Like those models, Azure T not only acts, but looks, the performance part. Unique styling cues, including 20-inch wheels, twin exhaust pipes and the "Le Mans" front wing vents, whatever those are, reinforce the sporting character and let people know you're not driving a mere Azure.

The interior opulence is almost beyond comprehension. You've never sat in anything so nice. There's about 8 acres of butter-soft, hand-stitched leather, wood that was probably taken from old-growth virgin forests and a jeweled gear selector that looks like it was stolen from the window at Tiffany's. The beautiful canvas top opens in 25 seconds flat, but why would you ever put it up? You're only ever going to drive this thing in beautiful weather.

Photos: Jim Merithew/Wired.com

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