Rolls-Royce Corniche Convertible, 1982
Rolls-Royce Corniche I - IV
Rolls-Royce Corniche I - IV•
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Chassis No.: SCAZD42A8CCX05549
Auction: Monterey 2025
Auction date: August 16, 2025
Lot No.: F10
$57,200 | Sold
- Odometer: 39,859 miles
- Engine: V-8
- Transmission: Automatic
- Exterior: Silver Sand/Walnut
- Interior: Dark Brown
- Body: Convertible
- Odometer reads 39,859 miles
- Comprehensive restoration completed in 2024
- 6.75L V-8 engine
- Automatic transmission
- Repainted Silver Sand and Walnut two-tone exterior
- Power-operated convertible top
- Dark Brown leather with White piping
- Burl Walnut dash and door inlays
- Panasonic AM/FM stereo
- New floor mats
- Spirit of Ecstasy mascot
At its outset, the Rolls-Royce Corniche convertible was without question the most expensive car of its age (other than head-of-state style limousines), costing close to one and half times more than the “standard” Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, which, in 1965, had spearheaded Rolls-Royce’s thrust into unitary construction, presenting coachbuilders with a new challenge.
The fact that the bespoke two-door convertibles by Mulliner-Park Ward on the Silver Shadow platform took more than 20 weeks to hand craft and transform into something altogether far more select went some way to justifying the enormous price tag; add that the walnut burl veneers, Wilton carpets and custom Connolly leather upholstery were all of the very highest order, and it’s easy to see why discerning clientele clamored for the exclusive Corniche with its seductive and subtle kinked coachline that kicked up over its haunches. With an increase in displacement and power from the uprated 6750cc version of the alloy V-8, the Corniche also received myriad upgrades and refinements.
From 1972, its 4-wheel disc brakes were now ventilated, and along with a mild restyling in 1977, the Corniche was endowed with rack-and-pinion steering, an aluminum radiator, an oil cooler, bi-level air-conditioning and fuel injection, followed by modifications to the independent rear end of the hydraulic self-leveling suspension. Along the way the wheelbase was also increased. Indeed, these were among the 2,000 changes Rolls-Royce claimed over this period. As a 1982 example, this Mulliner-Park Ward Corniche convertible benefits from all of these significant upgrades.
Powered by a 6.75L V-8 and automatic transmission and with the odometer showing a relatively modest 39,859 miles, it also benefits from a comprehensive restoration concluded in 2024 and including a repaint in Silver Sand over Walnut, a livery which very much evokes the era and is complemented by the dark brown leather upholstery set off with white piping. Among the new and replaced items are shock absorbers, brake calipers, white-stripe tires and floor mats. The bespoke and glamorous Corniche attracted an exclusive clientele that ranged from Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin to David Bowie and Elton John.
The other thing that highlights just how exclusive the Corniche Convertible was is that in 1982, when this example was first delivered, the U.S. port-of-entry price was a staggering $162,500.
https://www.mecum.com/lots/1146574/1982-rolls-royce-corniche-convertible/
Cost
210,067 AED
