3 September 2017

More than an old car #34: Rolls-Royce Corniche


Rolls-Royce has been known to produce exquisite vehicles, and this 1973 Rolls-Royce Corniche is no exception.

Production began in 1971 and its name is derived from the French and Italian term for a 'coastal road along a cliff'. Its clientele was the rich and famous, including musicians David Bowie, Paul McCartney and Frank Sinatra. Despite its high selling price back then, the people who bought it were even richer. This car saved Rolls-Royce from bankruptcy as it reaped in some 6.3 million pounds from its sale. Each car is hand-built for 6 months, which is similar to what RR is still doing today.

The Corniche was powered by a 6750cc 8-cylinder engine, allowing it to reach a top speed of 191km/h and an acceleration of around 10 seconds [0-100km/h]. It was 5.2m long and weighed a whopping 2185kg. There were 5 generations of Corniches produced and of which, only around 3200 1st-gen convertibles were made. The specimen here seems to be imported as seen from the rather new number plate. Based on my knowledge, there are fewer than 5 in Singapore currently. Seeing older RRs is a once-in-a-blue-moon sighting and I hope you will be able to recognise this gem too!


1 comment: