For Sale: 1969 Rolls-Royce Park Ward in Torrance, California

West Coast Classics are proud to present an exceptional and rare mostly all original and stock and therefore very collectible example of this 1969 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow 2 Door Coupe, coachbuilt by Mulliner Park Ward, with only some 67K original miles!Very rare example - 1 of only 568 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow MPW Coupes built between the years 1965-71 before the introduction of the 'Corniche'. Therefore the Silver Shadow 2 Door Coupe would be the lowest production 2 Door Coupe built by Rolls Royce. This particular example is finished in highly striking 'British Racing Green' color paint and all original 'Tan Connolly leather hides' and carpeting. All the chromework including the Rolls Royce grille is in absolutely outstanding condition and the interior has its original 'Tan' leather seats which are in very fine condition with some very desirable original patina but no signs of any significant wear and with no rips or tears. The leather dashboard is also in exceptional condition (always garaged from the sun) and the 'Fawn' mohair headliner is also in very fine condition. The original burled walnut woodwork is also in very fine condition and all the power options including the factory air conditioning, front electric windows and two rear electric wing vent windows are working as they should.The Silver Shadow coupe was an exclusive model sold in very few numbers (568 in total RR MPW coupes & 98 Bentley T MPW models built between 1965-71) and assembled in Crewe and finished in London at the renown Rolls Royce coachbuilders 'H.J. Mulliner', who had actually already merged with 'Park Ward' and become 'Mulliner Park Ward', and who continued their 1965 Silver Shadow coupes and 1967 dropheads later applying the 'Corniche' name in 1971. The Corniche coupe was discontinued in 1982. Total production of the 'Corniche' 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 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.The Rolls-Royce Corniche coupe is significantly rarer than the Silver Shadow sedan due to drastically lower production numbers, a highly specialized hand-built manufacturing process, and its stratospheric original retail price. While the Silver Shadow was a mass-produced success for the marque, the Corniche fixed-head coupe was treated as an exclusive, coachbuilt flagship.The Silver Shadow Sedan: Rolls-Royce produced more than 40,000 units across the Silver Shadow's run, making it the most numerous model the company had ever built at that time.The Corniche Coupe: Only 1,108 Corniche fixed-head coupes were produced between 1971 and 1980. For perspective, only about one Corniche coupe was built for every 150 Silver Shadow sedansLabor Intensive: Each Corniche coupe took up to five times longer to complete than a standard sedan. Every panel, wood veneer set, and leather hide was meticulously hand-fitted and matched.This obviously always very well maintained Rolls Royce engine with only some 67K original miles runs extremely strong and these cars are not slow - the engine purrs like a kitten, never stalls or idles rough and is extremely reliable - there is plenty of power to pull away at the lights and it cruises at high speeds with absolute ease. The transmission shift is almost imperceptibly smooth and the temperature always remains cool. This Silver Shadow is truly a sensual car that you can drive with your fingertips, smooth and relatively silent, it's thoroughly therapeutic for both drivers and passengers. The delightful precision action of the electrically powered steering column gear change and the ultra light weighted power steering allows one to park this 5000lbs of pure luxury with literally one finger and this long but actually quite slender car is anything but ponderous thanks to it's torque and brilliant turning radius! The ride is truly luxurious from a high riding position and the soft feel is like no other car on the road. This particular model drives particularly well and must be driven to be fully appreciated.Without a doubt you will look long and hard to find a finer driving or indeed looking example of this rare and mostly all original and very collectible surviving example of a 1969 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow MPW coupe, an obviously always garaged and long time southern California car!This is one of the last in the original line of cars hand built in the legendary Rolls Royce Crewe factory and then converted at their renown coachbuilders Mulliner Park Ward, of London England, with a quality and craftsmanship that far surpasses that of today's mass produced models with many BMW parts - this is indeed a rare opportunity to own a piece of classic automotive history, from a time when Rolls Royce was truly building the world's finest automobiles - a great investment for the Rolls Royce enthusiast or collector or simply an outstandingly striking example of a very rare and unusual Rolls Royce for the discerning luxury classic car owner!