Vehicle Description
Who buys/owns a brand-new Bentley or Rolls-Royce in 1979 and after
42 years, the car has only travelled 8,850 miles? We don't know but
for whatever reason, this is that car! An incredibly original and
totally immaculate Bentley Corniche convertible, finished in 2-tone
Walnut metallic over Silver Sand metallic with beige Connolly hide
leather interior. The coach work waist-rails are finished in
hand-painted twin-lines of fine gold. This is an amazing COMPLETELY
ORIGINAL condition example. Again, with a breathtaking 8,900 miles
from only 3 owners. The last 2 owners being collectors having
caretaken her for more than 30 years. The Bentley Corniche is rare
in itself, and "extremely rare" in this condition and mileage. Only
in the early few years were these cars referred to as "Bentley
Corniche", soon after they were named "Bentley Continental" and
only the Rolls-Royce referred to as the Corniche. Only 19 Bentley
Corniches were made of which only some half were convertibles. So
this example, in this conditions with such low miles, could well be
described as "the best example of its kind in the world". This is a
June 1979 build and a new American order car, however has the Euro
specs of the first SZ series car with carburetors and transposing
dual exhaust (left & right bank down separate side of the car as
opposed to one side) and mineral oil hydraulics. This is a great
case of having the best of both worlds; carburetors providing
better performance with the reliability improvements of mineral oil
instead of the 363 Castrol oil system. This is an entirely
unmolested and original example that is difficult to describe in
words. Never restored and simply cosseted its whole life.
Completely original factory paint, 100% original interior without
so much as even a touch up on the seats or other leather finishes,
the wood's original French polishing lacquer is in great condition,
carpets like new and a headliner for the top near new looking - but
indeed, also original. As importantly, it has been maintained
meticulously. Although rarely driven, the car has been regularly
maintained by us over the last 3 years to include brand new Avon
Turbosteel tyres. Some $20,000 in maintenance was done in 2018
which brought every major and minor service up to date,
preventative maintenance done and all operational features such AC
and electrics reviewed and serviced as required. The car today, is
in exemplary condition. Very straight, very clean, very true in all
characteristics Rolls-Royce/Bentley. The paint is deep in lustre
and shine and is entirely consistent. There are some small signs of
the factory blends because of the paint age. Back in the days,
Rolls-Royce would have to do small touch-ups as the cars got marked
during the hand-building process. Being single stage paint, the
cars would be sent back thru the paint shop to address these. You
can see some of these if you look hard and for the purist, are a
clear sign of originality. These are very minor, though, and are
limited to only a few select places and not objectionable.
Importantly, they do NOT detract from the cars high calibre of
presentation and are ONLY mentioned out of "clear disclosure". The
interior remains virtually perfect and is an outstanding feature on
this convertible. All the wood is completely original and looks
fantastic. There are a few small seat belt dings on the door
cappings but minor enough to warrant leaving and for one to embrace
the knowledge of it being factory original. The window surrounds,
carpet and roof-lining, are in immaculate condition. The Connolly
hide leather is stunning. Never been redyed and showing its
original Connolly hide signature finish. Connolly leather has a
2-tone effect with a darker dressing in the depths of the grain.
This is know as "Luxan grain"(*see note below). If you are familiar
with Cognac leather in early Mercedes, you will understand this
description, but with the Rolls-Royce leather, the effect being
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