Rolls Royce Corniche

Manufactured from 1971 to 1995, for 24 glorious years, The Rolls Royce Corniche was a front engine 2 door rear wheel drive 5 seat incredible automobile, the most celebrated in the world.
It was available as both a coupe and a convertible.

Rolls Royce In The 1960’s

The swinging sixties opened up the infamous Rolls Royce to a brand new breed of buyer. Now the car attracted Rock Stars and Actors, all using the vehicle as a symbol of their success. A grand car for a grand man or woman.
The Rolls –Royce was now splashed across the movie screens too, being the star of the 1965 film, The Yellow Rolls Royce along with Omar Sharif, Rex Harrison and Ingrid Bergman.
The same year, John Lennon bought a Phantom V, first in matt black but soon to be transformed into the psychedelic Rolls Royce we have all grown to know and love. Today it ranks as one of the most valuable cars ever created.

Rolls Royce Corniche Development

The Corniche was a development of the Rolls Royce Silver Shadow and was named as such in 1966.
Under Rolls-Royce Motors Limited the stylish 2 door Corniche was invented, based on the Silver Shadow and hand built by Mulliner Park Ward.

It was available in both:
Convertible
And hardtop
Only 1306 ever being built at all.

The Camargue was also built by Mulliner Park Ward, using a Silver Shadow platform combined by the iconic Italian coachbuilder Pininfarina, it was the first Rolls Royce designed to metric dimensions offering advanced features such as automatic split level air conditioning.

The amazingly distinct exterior was designed by John Polwhele Blatchley and was also sold as a Bentley, known as The Continental in 1984.
The 1939 prototype based on the Bentley Mark V was the first with the Corniche nameplate.
The word Corniche comes from the original French and Italian term for Coastal Road.

The Original Rolls Royce Corniche 1971

The marketing of the Rolls Royce Corniche began in 1971 with a prototype based on the Bentley Mark V.
The Corniche was available as both:
A Coupe
Or Convertible
It used the:
V8 Engine with aluminium cylinder heads
Aluminium silicon alloy blocks with cast iron wet cylinder liners.
It had a 3.9 stroke and a 4.1 bore making a complete 6.75 L.
Originally twin SU Carburettors were fitted later replaced with single Solex 4A1 four barrel carburettors, They remained until 1980 and then the Bosch fuel injection was created and became a feature.
The Rolls Royce Corniche was fitted with:
A 3 speed automatic transmission
4 Wheel independent suspension with coli springs
A Hydraulic self-levelling system on all 4 wheels to start and then just the rear later
The Corniche also had 4 wheel disc brakes and these discs were ventilated after 1972.
Originally the car had a 119.75 wheelbase but this grew to 120 in by 1974 and 120.6 in 1979.
1977 Rolls Royce Corniche Re- Styled
In 1977 the following additions were made:
Alloy and Rubber bumpers added
Oil cooler & Bi-Level air conditioning added
Rack & Pinion steering
Bosch KE/K Jetronic fuel injection added with a L4101 engine producing 240 PS and 4000 RPM with a top speed of 190 kilometres per hour
By 1979 a rear modified independent suspension was added and in 1981 with the Silver Spirit on sale the Corniche and Coupe and it’s Bentley sister were all discontinued.By 1984 the Bentley version was now known as the Continental which was added with:
Revised and color-coded bumpers
New Dashboard
Seat Improvements

Production Stats Total:

1090 Rolls Royce Corniche Saloons
3239 Rolls Royce Corniche Convertibles
69 Bentley Corniche Saloons
77 Bentley Corniche Convertibles

Rolls Royce Corniche II

The Rolls Royce Corniche II was born in 1986 and named exclusively for the U.S. market.
It’s additional unique features included Anti-Lock brakes and changes to the interior. By 1988 teher was also:
A New pattern around the rear licence plate
New reverse warning-lens type
Re-designed instrumentation
Newly designed seats
Production Stats
1226 Rolls Royce Corniche II were produced

Rolls Royce Corniche III

Launched at the 1989 Frankfurt Motor Show the Corniche III had:
Color Coded bumpers
New alloy wheels
Improved & Advanced suspension system
Air bags
MK-Motronic fuel injections
Revised console & seats and dashboard

Rolls Royce Corniche IV

The Rolls Royce Corniche IV was launched at the Detroit Auto Show in January 1992.
It featured:
A four speed GM4L80 automatic transmission instead of a 3 speed
Adaptive Suspension
The Rolls Royce Corniche IV also had:
New glass rear window
Improved top mechanism.
Driver and passenger airbags
CFC free air conditioning were added too.
At the end of October 1992 a special limited edition 25 cars were built in Ming Blue with a cream hood and a silver plaque on the dash to celebrate the 21st anniversary Rolls Royce cornice.
In August 1993 a 20 per cent more capacity engine was fitted as standard.

In 1995 the final 25 Corniche models were built, turbo charged and called the Rolls Royce S.

Production Stats
5,146 Rolls Royce Corniche Convertibles
1,108 Rolls Royce Saloons (Coupes)
140 Rolls Royce Bentley Corniches

Rolls Royce Corniche V 2000

Debuting in the New Year of the year 2000 it was:
The priciest car that Rolls Royce ever produced with a price of $359,900.
The production only lasted a year when Bentley was bought by Volkswagen AG and Rolls Royce was bought by BMW.
It was styled after the Rolls Royce Silver Seraph sedan and the Corniche’s body was set onto the older platform used by the Bentley Azure.
It was powered by a 325 HP Turbo Charged V8, providing 738Nm and 2,100 RPM and had a 4 speed automatic transmission with a top speed of 135 mph and in 8 seconds the car could reach 60MPH.
The car had the following characteristics:
Wilton Wool Carpets
Connolly Leather Interior
Exotic Wood Trims
Chrome Gauges
6 Disc CD Changer
Automatic Headlamps
Automatic Ride Control

Rolls Royce Corniche 2000 Production Stats
Rolls Royce Corniche Azure – 1,403 produced between 1994 and 2002
Rolls Royce Corniche – 384 produced between 1994 and 2002
Total of 1,787 Bentley Azure & Rolls Royce Corniche’s were produced

Total Rolls Royce Corniche Production Stats

4,332 Rolls Royce Corniche’s built
Between 1971 to 1981 1,108 Rolls Royce Corniche Saloons were made
Between 1971 to 1988 3.224 Rolls Royce Corniche Convertibles were produced
140 Rolls Royce Bentley Corniches were made
Between 1978 and 1981 63 Rolls Royce Corniche Saloons were created
Between 1971 and 1984 77 Rolls Royce Convertibles were made
Between 1988 and 1989 1,234 Rolls Royce Corniche II’s were produced
Between 1989 and 1992 452 Rolls Royce Corniche III’s were created
Between 1992 to 1995 244 Rolls Royce Corniche IV’s were created
Between 1992 and 1995 219 Rolls Royce Corniche IV were produced
In 1995 25 Rolls Royce Corniche S’s were created
Between 2000 and 2002 374 Rolls Royce Corniche V’s were released
Between 1984 and 1994 421 Rolls Royce Bentley Continental’s were created
Between 1992-1995 8 Rolls Royce Bentley Continental Turbo

Rolls Royce Corniche Colours

Antique White
Aquamarin
Astrakhan
Astral Blue
Athenian Blue
Beaujolais
Beige
Black Onyx
Black Pearl
Blue Grey
Brewster Green
British Racing Green
Brooklands Green
Burgundy
Butternut Yellow
Cardinal Red
Carribe Aqua
Caribbean Blue
Champagne
Chestnut
Chrome Yellow
Claret
Cobalt
Coffee Bean Brown
College Blue
Coral
Crown
Dark Olive
Deep Blue Indigo
Dark Oyster
Dawn Blue
Ebony
Eggshell Yellow
Embassy Black
Exeter Blue
Fenland Sedge
Forest Green
Garnet
Georgian Silver
Highland Green
Honey
Ice Green
Ivory
Lagoon Blue
Larch Green
Larkspur
Laurel
Le Mans Blue
Light Oyster
Magnolia
Maroon
Mason’s Black
Mediterranean Blue
Midnight Blue
Ming Blue
Mink
Mistletoe
Moorland Green
Lily Yellow
Nottingham Green
Nugget Gold
Nutmeg Brown
Ocean Blue
Ocean Foam
Old English White
Olive Green
Onyx
Oxford Blue
Paprika
Peacock Blue
Pearl White
Pewter
Pink
Porcelain White
Primrose Yellow
Red Pearl
Redwood
Regal Red
Regency Bronze
Regency Gold
Royal Blue
Sable
Sage Green
Sand
Scots Pine Green
Sea-Foam Green
Sepia
Seychelles Blue
Shell Grey
Silver Chalice
Silver Mink
Silver Sand
Smoke Green
Sterling
Tudor Grey
Tudor Red
Velvet Green
Walnut
Walnut Bronze
White
Acrylic White
Willow Gold
Westminster Blue
Windsor Bue
Yellow
Xanthous Yellow

Production:

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)

Selling your Rolls Royce Corniche? or want a valuation?

Then please call us today at WCC, we are the no hassle way to sell any classic car including your Rolls Royce Corniche.
As a long time licensed and bonded California auto dealership, we will take care of all the paperwork for the sale of your car ….. properly take care of all the paperwork that is, with no car left still registered in your name; we will give you a fair and no BS immediate cash offer for the car; imagine no advertising costs, no dealing with “tire kickers”, no bad checks, no non-existent wire transfers, no waiting for your money and probably most importantly, no strangers at your home or in your business .. period.
We will also arrange the immediate professional pick up and transportation of your car by a licensed auto shipper from anywhere in the continental United States. Ultimately, we are one of the quickest, safest and easiest way to sell your classic car today.
We have the knowledge and power to execute the deal immediately, so if you want some friendly advice or just a chat about how to sell us your Rolls Royce Corniche then don’t hesitate to call us on 424-376-5151 now!