1981 Rolls-Royce Corniche Convertible

• Delivered new in the UK
• Extensively campaigned and enjoyed
• Present ownership since 1991

Recalling the firm's glamorous Grandes Routières of pre-war days such as the Phantom II Continental, the coachbuilt variants of the new Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow and T-Series Bentley were limited to just two: a two-door coupé or similar convertible, the former arriving in March 1966 and the latter in September the following year. Some of the frontal panels were shared with the standard four-door saloon but otherwise the new bodyshells were unique, featuring a distinctive dipping upper wing line with parallel crease, and a revised, more rounded posterior. Construction involved shuttling the bodyshells between the Crewe factory and H J Mulliner Park Ward's Willesden plant, a necessarily lengthy process that took all of 20 weeks for the saloon and slightly longer for the more complex convertible.

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, such painstaking attention to detail resulting in a price some 50% higher than that of the standard Silver Shadow. Nevertheless, demand for these more glamorous alternatives to the much more numerous four-door model 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 well-tried 6.7-litre V8 produced around 10% more power than standard and proved capable of propelling the car to a top speed in excess of 120mph with sports car-beating acceleration to match. 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 Corniche Convertible was delivered new in July 1981 via H R Owen Ltd of London W1 finished in Georgian Silver with black leather interior. The car has been in the current ownership since September 1991 having previously belonged (from 1984) to a Mr Alexander Bolton of Romford, Essex. According to the vendor, the Rolls-Royce has been to many countries, including China and Jordan. Sadly, the owner is unwell and details of the car's service history are unlikely to be forthcoming; accordingly it is sold strictly as viewed, having been little used in recent years. The car is offered with an old-style V5 registration document and comes with tools, jack, car cover, and an owner's handbook.