West Coast Classics are proud to present an absolutely stunning and exceptional example of this last generation of Crewe hand built Rolls Royce's, the Corniche V, one of only 374 built between the final 2000-2002 production years, with Bentley having already having become a subsidiary of VW from Vickers in 1998 and with Rolls-Royce about to become solely owned by BMW in late 2002. This is a truly superb Rolls Royce by any standards, and one which was still being hand built at the legendary Rolls Royce / Bentley legendary Crewe factory, and by far the most expensive vehicle offered by Rolls-Royce in it's day, with a base price of over $359K.
This particular pristine example is superbly striking in its original and very rare and unique factory 'Sunrise Pearl Metallic' color with a beautiful matching and very striking convertible top and a gorgeous 'Tan with Claret Piping' leather interior with matching 'Claret' carpeting and trunk and dash. This is an obviously always garaged and covered example since new with a clean CARFAX report showing extensive preventive maintenance and scheduled service history over the years, primarily at 'British Motor Car Distributors' of San Francisco, CA in the early years and in recent years at 'Desert European Motorcars' of Rancho Mirage, CA. It was obviously owned by only very careful and meticulous drivers since new - never abused!
The Corniche historically was originally Rolls Royce's coupe and convertible versions of the Silver Shadow saloon and which was originally produced between 1971 and 1996. The model was assembled in Crewe and finished in London at the renown Rolls Royce coachbuilders 'Mulliner Park Ward' as a continuation of their 1965 Silver Shadow coupe and 1967 drophead, with the Corniche name applied in 1971. The Corniche coupe was discontinued in 1982. Total production of the coupes (1971-82) was only 1,108 and of the convertibles (1971-87) was only 3,239. The car as reworked in 1986 as the Corniche II (with 1,226 produced), in late 1989 as the Corniche III (with 452 produced) and in 1993 as the Corniche IV (with only 244 produced) when production was moved to Crewe after the closure of Mulliner Park Ward and the final form in 2000 was as the Corniche V after which production ceased in 2001.
For the Corniche V styling cues were taken from the Rolls Royce Silver Seraph sedan, but it shares little mechanically with that BMW engined car. Instead, the Corniche's body was set onto the older platform used for the similarly-styled Bentley Azure making it the first and only Rolls-Royce developed from a Bentley rather than the other way around. The 2000-2002 Corniche V is powered by a 6.75 L 325HP turbocharged V8 and came outfitted with every luxury and refinement characteristic of a Rolls-Royce with Connolly leather interior, Wilton wool carpets, chrome gauges and a wide choice of exotic wood trims. Dual automatic temperature control, a six-disc CD changer, automatic headlamps and automatic ride control are standard and all Corniches were completely hand-built and to most enthusiasts the car was considered an even more exclusive car than the by now completely VW owned Azure. The very last Rolls-Royce Corniche rolled off the assembly line on August 30, 2002 and this was the very last Rolls-Royce to be made at the Crewe plant before it was turned over entirely to the production of Bentley models now owned by VW. Only 374 fifth-generation Corniches were ever built.
It turns out that the Corniche V brings you two particular things so characteristic of England. First, it's exclusive, as only 374 were built during its production run. Second, stubborn British craftsmen with incredible pride build the Corniche V by hand, with a signed Chief Engineers signature as proof on each car's exclusive numbered engine, and this gives the car something approaching a soul.
In summary you will surely look long and hard to find a finer example of this last generation from Crewe hand built Rolls Royce Corniche Convertible with only 27K original miles in a very unique and striking color combination! For those who are unfamiliar, Rolls Royce and Bentley no longer exist as they had for over one hundred years - this is one of the very last in the original line of cars hand built in the legendary Rolls Royce/Bentley factory in Crewe, England with a quality and craftsmanship that far surpasses that of today's mass produced models with many BMW parts - this is a rare opportunity to own a piece of automobile history, from a time when Rolls Royce and Bentley were truly building the world's finest motor cars.
