Lot 324: 1977 Rolls-Royce Camargue Coup�

Styled by Pininfarina of Italy, the Camargue was launched in 1975 to a mixture of awe and disbelief. Was this audaciously styled car, its lines reminiscent of the Continental sports saloons of the past, really worth almost twice as much as the Silver Shadow on which it was based? The company�s flagship, the Camargue was priced at 50 percent above the Corniche and, like the latter, used an up-rated version of Rolls-Royce�s dependable, 6,750cc V8 engine. In keeping with tradition the power output remained undisclosed, but most testers reported a healthy improvement in acceleration above 70mph and a top speed in excess of 120mph. Rolls-Royce�s advanced split-level air conditioning system was introduced with the Camargue, but in all other respects the interior remained the traditional �Gentlemen�s Club on wheels�, with acres of walnut embellishment and finest-quality leather. Produced at the rate of around one a week, the Camargue was an exclusive model even by Rolls-Royce standards, output totalling just 531 units by the time production ceased in 1986. Its price at the finish? A cool �83,122. With the bulk of production destined for overseas customers, the majority of Camargues was built with left-hand drive, which makes this right-hand drive example (one of just 140 such) of one of the rarest and most desirable of post-war Rolls-Royces even more unusual. First registered on 30th September 1977, the car has enjoyed five owners, the last for the past 25 years. Finished in Paprika with tan-piped magnolia leather interior, the latter carpeted in red and retaining its original matching lambswool over-rugs, �WAX 278S� comes complete with tool kit, jack, original owner�s wallet, instruction manual and service booklet, and is offered with expired MoTs for the period 1982-2007, sundry invoices, assorted old tax discs, Swansea V5 registration document and MoT to May 2008.