1978 Rolls-Royce Corniche

Lot details
Registration No: DGK397S
Chassis No: CRH32417
Mot Expiry: T.B.A.

The Corniche, named after the winding French Riviera roads high above Monte Carlo which are the model's natural habitat, is the coachbuilt version of Rolls-Royce's successful and long-running Silver Shadow, styled by John Blatchley. Powered by the same silky-smooth 6750cc V8 engine and GM automatic transmission - used because it was the best available - each Corniche was hand-finished at Rolls-Royce's 'in-house' coachbuilder, Mulliner Park Ward in Willesden, London. In fact, the model had been known as the Mulliner Park Ward Coupe (or Convertible) before the Corniche name was adopted in 1971 when the entire Shadow range was updated. The convertible version was built until 1996, though the coupes were discontinued in 1982, four years after this car was built.

This car, still with only 53,000 miles recorded, was owned by The Rt Hon Chris Patten when he was the last Governor of Hong Kong, 1992-1997, and it was repatriated and re-registered in 2001. Since then the vendor has had the car repainted in its original colour; the job was done very well and the car is in very good order, its outer appearance upgraded with later bumpers and lights as fitted to the Corniche II built from 1986. The vendor describes it as being in "excellent overall" condition and says the car will have a new MOT, last expired in April 2008, by the time of the sale.