1986 Rolls-Royce Camargue

With its arrival in 1975, the Rolls-Royce Camargue immediately became the most expensive production car in the world. Its conception began in the previous decade, when Pininfarina envisioned a one-off Bentley T-Series Coupe Special with the intention of spawning a new 'Continental' generation. Unveiled in 1968, the design was well received by Rolls-Royce management, and Pininfarina became the first external design house (since the war) to design a production vehicle for the company.

The Rolls-Royce Camargue (also known as the Pininfarina Camargue) was launched in January 1975 and was exclusively offered to the company's most loyal and distinguished customers. With a price tag that was 50% more expensive than a Silver Shadow, the list of capable buyers was short, and each car took a full six months to build. During its eleven-year production lifespan, a mere 531 examples were built with the final twelve cars being designated as 80-year special anniversary models, named 'Limited'. Each of these twelve cars was given a white paint scheme with a red and white leather interior and a patriotic homage to the flag of St. George. Additionally, they received individually numbered plaques, Rolls-Royce monogram door cappings, a crystal cocktail compartment, and a silver-plated, monogrammed vanity set.

The Rolls-Royce Camargue rested on a generous 120-inch wheelbase platform with an overall length of 203.5 inches, a height of 58 inches, and 75.5 inches wide. It shared its platform with the Rolls-Royce Corniche and Silver Shadow and received the same 412 cubic inch (6.75 liter) V8 engine paired with a three-speed General Motors Turbo-Hydramatic transmission. The first sixty-five Camargues produced were given SU carburetors, while the remaining examples used Solex units. During the 1980s, cars destined for U.S. soil used Bosch Jetronic fuel injection which it shared with the Corniche and Silver Spirit/Spur. In February 1977, a power rack and pinion steering system from the Silver Shadow II was installed, and in 1979, it gained the rear independent suspension of the Silver Spirit.

Firsts
The Camargue was the first Rolls-Royce:
- to feature an inclined grille rather than a vertical unit (slanted at a seven-degree angle)
- to be designed to metric dimensions
- (post-war) not designed in-house

by Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2023