6,750cc OHV V8 Engine
220bhp at 4,000rpm
3-Speed GM400 Automatic Transmission
4-Wheel Independent Suspension
4-Wheel Disc Brakes

*Delivered new to North America
*One of only 530 built
*Original MSRP in 1980 - $153,090
*Bespoke English luxury, crisp Italian style

THE MOTORCAR OFFERED

It could be surmised that, if an uninitiated person was asked to guess what they had just seen after having been given a brief glance at a Camargue (Who made it? Who designed it? When was it built? How many did they build?), the answers might come back: Ferrari or Maserati; Michelotti or Bertone; mid-1990s or 2000s; it's a one off. It may surprise even the cognoscenti to know that these stunningly elegant two door Rolls-Royce sport coupes date originally from the mid-1970s, are from the pen of Pininfarina, were a full production car rather than a styling exercise and that the adornment of the Rolls-Royce grille is not a disguise but a confirmation that the car is from that esteemed manufacturer from stem to stern.

With the underpinnings of the contemporary Silver Shadow, the Camargue coupe was strikingly different from any preceding Rolls-Royce model, and closer in concept to the Bentley Continental. The company's flagship, it used an up-rated version of Rolls' dependable 6,750cc V8 engine. The power output remained undisclosed, in keeping with tradition, although most testers reported a healthy improvement in acceleration above 70mph and a top speed in excess of 120mph. The car also featured Rolls-Royce's advanced split-level air conditioning system which enabled independent temperature control at two levels, something that would later become standard on the Shadow II range.

Original U.S. list prices were approximately $148,000 making Camargues perilously expensive and in today's money, they would eclipse the cost of almost all new cars. The prohibitive cost, paired with the lengthy production build time, undoubtedly accounted for the modest numbers built; perhaps some of those in the line gave up waiting and chose to take the two Silver Shadows instead, or a handful of other cars? Although in production for 11 years until 1986, some 530 were built. Of those, a mere 30 entered the U.S.A. each year even though the bulk of production was intended for overseas customers and the majority built with left-hand drive.

The Camargue offered has a data plate which lists a build date of October 1976, while the British Registration document for the car cites October 7, 1977 as its first date of registration. Its VIN decodes to reveal that it was originally built for the North American market, and therefore had the odometer in miles and was left hand drive from new. Its career beyond this point is not well-charted, although from a sticker under the hood, it appears to have had some time in the Far East also.

By, the late 2000s it returned to its country of birth, being re-registered there on November 14, 2007, according to its former V5 document. The current owner acquired the Rolls-Royce in 2011 from the noted British dealer Peter Jarvis, someone well known for this era of the marque. In its present custody its use has been limited and it will no doubt require careful recommissioning before road use.