1985 Rolls-Royce Corniche Series I Convertible

Description

1985 Rolls-Royce Corniche Series I Convertible

If you’ve ever longed for your own car to make your champagne wishes and caviar dreams come true, what better way to do so than with a Rolls-Royce? MotoeXotica Classic Cars is pleased to present this 1985 Rolls-Royce Corniche Series I Convertible.

This example was built in March 12, 1985 at the Mulliner Park Ward factory in London, England and is one of about 3,300 Corniche droptops made between 1971 and 1988. Each one took more than a month to construct.

The Corniche draws its name from the French and Italian term for a coastal road, especially along the face of a cliff, most notably La Grande Corniche along the Riviera between Nice, France and Monte-Carlo in Monaco.

The car’s white exterior is in overall great shape, and presents nicely. The white folding top is in satisfactory order, however operates manually. The boot is lined in the same color as the upholstery and is in overall very good orginal condition. The car’s bumpers are in very good order as well.

This car rolls on whitewall radials, size 225/75R15. The tires are mounted on steel wheels topped by factory wheel covers. The tires are in very good condition while the wheel covers are in satisfactory order.

For years, Rolls-Royce used to advertise that its cars’ horsepower and torque figures were “sufficient” without quoting any figures. Under the hood is a 6.75L V-8 engine mated to a Turbo Hydramatic 350 three-speed automatic transmission sourced from General Motors, odometer is inoperable. Driver convenience features are many, as one should expect on a Rolls - dual climate control, power rack-and-pinion steering, power four-wheel, vented disc brakes, power windows, power locks.

Inside, the navy blue interior is in satisfactory condition. The driver’s seat has some blemishes, the matching carpeting and mats with RR logos is in decent order. The instrument panel, with its burled wood, looks great, and there are digital readouts for interior and exterior temperatures, time and compass direction, while the inner door panels somewhat show their age. The center console and shifter are in decent shape.

The Corniche, available as coupé or convertible, used the standard Rolls-Royce 6.75L V8 engine with an aluminum-silicon alloy block and aluminum cylinder heads with cast iron wet cylinder liners. Twin SU carburetors were initially fitted but were replaced with a single Solex 4A1 four-barrel carburetor introduced in 1977. De-smogged export models retained the twin SUs until 1980, when Bosch fuel injection was added.

A three-speed automatic transmission, Turbo Hydramatic 350 units sourced from General Motors, was standard. A four-wheel independent suspension with coil springs was augmented with a hydraulic self-leveling system It was the same system as Citroën’s, but without pneumatic springs, and with the hydraulic components built under license by Rolls-Royce, at first on all four, but later on the rear wheels only. Four-wheel disc brakes were specified, with ventilated discs added for 1972.

The car originally used a 119.75-inch wheelbase. This was extended to 120 inches in 1974 and 120.5 inches in 1979.

The Corniche received a mild restyling in the spring of 1977. Difference included rack-and-pinion steering, alloy and rubber bumpers, aluminum radiator, oil cooler and a bi-level air conditioning system was added. Later changes included a modified rear independent suspension in March 1979. For 1985, there were also cosmetic and interior changes.

Corniche models received Bosch KE/K-Jetronic fuel injection in 1977. This engine, called the L410I, had a top speed of 118 mph. Famous and infamous Corniche owners include:

Competition to this Corniche in 1985 included Cadillac’s Eldorado Convertible, Jaguar’s XJS Convertible and XJ-SC Targa and Mercedes-Benz’s 380 SL Convertible.

While we do not recommend stopping alongside another Rolls and asking if the other driver has any Grey Poupon Mustard, we do recommend that anyone interested in acquiring this ultimate cushy cruiser, a model favored by many actors, entertainers, musicians and comedians, come by MotoeXotica Classic Cars to take a look at it.

VIN: SCAZD42A2FCX10251

This car is currently located at our facility in St. Louis, Missouri. Current mileage on the odometer shows 62,610 miles. It is sold as is, where is, on a clean and clear, mileage exempt title. GET OUT AND DRIVE!!!

Note: Please see full terms and conditions listed below that pertain to the purchase of any said vehicle, thank you.