Lot 132: c.1973 Rolls-Royce Corniche Coupé
Coachwork by H J Mulliner, Park Ward

Recalling its glamorous Grands Routiers of pre-war days such as the Phantom II Continental, Rolls-Royce’s final coachbuilt models - entrusted to the company’s in-house coachbuilder Mulliner, Park Ward - were limited to just two, a two-door coupe or similar convertible, the former arriving in March 1966 and the latter in September the following year. These exclusive cars were hand built in the best traditions of British coachbuilding using only materials of the finest quality, including Wilton carpeting, Connolly hide and burr walnut veneers, a necessarily lengthy process that took all of 20 weeks for the saloon and slightly longer for the more complex convertible. This painstaking attention to detail resulted in a price some 50% higher than the standard Silver Shadow’s. Nevertheless, demand for these more glamorous alternatives to the much more numerous Silver Shadow was strong right from the start, a state of affairs that resulted in them being given their own model name - ‘Corniche’ - in March 1971. In Corniche form Rolls-Royce’s proven 6,750cc aluminium-alloy V8 engine produced around 10% more power than standard, endowing the car with a top speed in excess of 120mph and sportscar-beating acceleration to match. Progressively developed, the Corniche received Rolls’s advanced split-level air conditioning system along with a re-designed fascia in 1976 - the first Rolls-Royce model to do so - and in 1977 benefited from the many improvements - most notably rack-and-pinion steering - introduced on the ’Shadow II range. Despite its sky-high asking price, the model proved a major success for Rolls-Royce; periodically revised and up-dated, it remained in production well into the 1990s, the last (Convertible) examples being delivered in 1995.

This right-hand drive Corniche Coupé is finished in bronze with cream leather interior. Described by the private vendor as in apparently good condition, the car is UK-registered ‘SWC 22M’ and comes with Swansea V5 registration document.




Cette Corniche à conduite à droite est de couleur bronze avec un intérieur crème. Présentée comme étant en bon état, cette voiture immatriculée au Royaume-Uni « SWC 22M » possède son document V5 de Swansea.