Rolls-Royce Reveals New Corniche Convertible
7 January 2000
Rolls-Royce Reveals New Corniche ConvertibleLOS ANGELES, LOS ANGELES AUTO SHOW, Jan. 6 -- Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited revealed its new $359,990 Corniche convertible at the 2000 Greater Los Angeles Auto Show, dominating a line of new model intros as the most expensive production Rolls-Royce model ever launched. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000106/LATH033 ) Company officials say just 100 of the exclusive motor cars will be available for sale in North America this year, making it one of the Show's rarest models. While the new convertible takes its main design cues from the company's popular Silver Seraph saloon, its styling echoes themes from Rolls-Royce's illustrious past. It is as if Rolls-Royce designers selected a favorite quotation from their rich library of coachbuilding studies and subtly reinterpreted it to please and excite a new generation of Corniche owners. The Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited, Tony Gott, acknowledges that for collectors and aficionados of the hand-built motor cars from Crewe, England, the Corniche convertible may well prove to be quite literally its ultimate expression. The Corniche represents a considerable investment by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and its parent, Volkswagen Group, and comes just a few years before the brand passes to BMW. The Rolls-Royce Corniche is powered by a light-pressure turbocharged V8 engine producing 325 horsepower, with a four-speed adaptive automatic transmission. The luxurious four-seat interior is crafted from Connolly leather, deep pile Wilton carpets and hand finished wood veneers featuring subtle cross-banding and boxwood inlays. There were 237 Rolls-Royce motor cars sold in North America last year, an increase of 3.5 percent over 1998. Rolls-Royce and Bentley Motor Cars is located in Crewe, England, and for almost a century has been dedicated to hand-crafting uniquely refined motor cars, commissioned to reflect the wholly personal needs and tastes of individual owners. To experience Rolls-Royce at first hand more than a thousand owners visit the factory each year to commission their own motor car. For further information please contact: John Crawford - Director of Public Relations, office: 248-340-6456, or cell: 248-760-4603, or Jeff Perlman of JMPR, office: 818-992-4353 or cell: 818-317-3070