Vehicle Description
West Coast Classics are proud to present an absolutely stunning and
exceptional example of this 2001 Rolls-Royce Corniche V with only
15K original miles - one of the last generation of Crewe hand built
Rolls Royce's, the Corniche V, one of only 374 built between the
final 2000-2002 production years, with Bentley having already
having become a subsidiary of VW from Vickers in 1998 and with
Rolls-Royce about to become solely owned by BMW in late 2002.This
is a truly superb Rolls Royce by any standards, and one which was
still being hand built at the legendary Rolls Royce / Bentley
legendary Crewe factory, and by far the most expensive vehicle
offered by Rolls-Royce in it's day, with a base price of over
$359K.This particular example is superbly striking in its original
and very rare and unique factory 'Sunset Pearl' color with a
beautiful matching and very striking convertible top and a gorgeous
'Tan with Brown Piping' leather interior with matching 'Wilton'
wool carpeting and trunk and burled walnut dash with 17" factory
chrome wheels.This is an obviously always garaged and covered
example since new with only 15K original miles and only two owners
since new. The car was sold in 10/2003 by 'Desert European
Motorcars' of Rancho Mirage, CA with 10,176 miles to only its
second owner who owned the car in Tucson, AZ until we recently
acquired the car. It was obviously owned by only two very careful
and meticulous drivers since new - never abused!The Corniche
historically was originally Rolls Royce's coupe and convertible
versions of the Silver Shadow saloon and which was originally
produced between 1971 and 1996. The model was assembled in Crewe
and finished in London at the renown Rolls Royce coachbuilders
'Mulliner Park Ward' as a continuation of their 1965 Silver Shadow
coupe and 1967 drophead, with the Corniche name applied in 1971.
The Corniche coupe was discontinued in 1982. Total production of
the coupes (1971-82) was only 1,108 and of the convertibles
(1971-87) was only 3,239. The car as reworked in 1986 as the
Corniche II (with 1,226 produced), in late 1989 as the Corniche III
(with 452 produced) and in 1993 as the Corniche IV (with only 244
produced) when production was moved to Crewe after the closure of
Mulliner Park Ward and the final form in 2000 was as the Corniche V
after which production ceased in 2001.For the Corniche V styling
cues were taken from the Rolls Royce Silver Seraph sedan, but it
shares little mechanically with that BMW engined car. Instead, the
Corniche's body was set onto the older platform used for the
similarly-styled Bentley Azure making it the first and only
Rolls-Royce developed from a Bentley rather than the other way
around. The 2000-2002 Corniche V is powered by a 6.75 L 325HP
turbocharged V8 and came outfitted with every luxury and refinement
characteristic of a Rolls-Royce with Connolly leather interior,
Wilton wool carpets, chrome gauges and a wide choice of exotic wood
trims. Dual automatic temperature control, a six-disc CD changer,
automatic headlamps and automatic ride control are standard and all
Corniches were completely hand-built and to most enthusiasts the
car was considered an even more exclusive car than the by now
completely VW owned Azure. The very last Rolls-Royce Corniche
rolled off the assembly line on August 30, 2002 and this was the
very last Rolls-Royce to be made at the Crewe plant before it was
turned over entirely to the production of Bentley models now owned
by VW. Only 374 fifth-generation Corniches were ever built.It turns
out that the Corniche V brings you two particular things so
characteristic of England. First, it's exclusive, as only 374 were
built during its production run. Second, stubborn British craftsmen
with incredible pride build the Corniche V by hand, with a signed
Chief Engineers signature as proof on each car's exclusive numbered
engine, and this gives the car something approaching a soul.In
summary you will surely look long and hard to find a finer example
of this last generation from Crewe hand built Rolls Royce Corniche
Convertible with only 15K original miles in a very unique and
striking color combination!For those who are unfamiliar, Rolls
Royce and Bentley no longer exist as they had for over one hundred
years - this is one of the very last in the original line of cars
hand built in the legendary Rolls Royce/Bentley factory in Crewe,
England with a quality and craftsmanship that far surpasses that of
today's mass produced models with many BMW parts - this is a rare
opportunity to own a piece of automobile history, from a time when
Rolls Royce and Bentley were truly building the world's finest
motor cars.