Rolls-Royce Corniche (2000)
The Rolls-Royce Corniche is a two-door, four-seater luxury car with a cabriolet body, made in the United Kingdom from 2000 to 2002. Rolls-Royce's flagship car, it was the fifth model to bear the Corniche name on its debut in January 2000. At the time of its release, it was the most expensive vehicle offered by Rolls-Royce, with a base price of US$359,900.
| Rolls-Royce Corniche V | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Rolls-Royce Motors |
| Production |
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| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Luxury car |
| Body style | 2-door 4-seat convertible |
| Layout | FR layout |
| Related | Bentley Azure |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 6.75 L turbocharged Rolls-Royce V8 |
| Transmission | 4-speed 4L80-E automatic |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 120.5 in (3,061 mm) |
| Length | 212.8 in (5,405 mm) |
| Kerb weight | 6,050 lb (2,744 kg) |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Rolls-Royce Corniche IV |
| Successor | Bentley Azure (2006) (closest) Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé (more expensive RR convertible) Rolls-Royce Dawn (2015) (less expensive RR convertible) |
Description
The 2000-2002 Corniche is powered by a 325 hp (240 kW) 6.75 L turbocharged Rolls-Royce V8. The Corniche's engine is capable of providing 738 N·m (544 lb·ft) of torque at 2,100 rpm. The car is operated via a four-speed automatic transmission. It has a top speed of 135 mph (215 km/h) and a 0-60 mph (97 km/h) acceleration time of 8 seconds. The convertible, weighing 6,836 lb (3,101 kg), was built more for comfort than for speed.
The Corniche came outfitted with every luxury and refinement characteristic of a Rolls-Royce. The car has a Connolly Leather interior, Wilton wool carpets, chrome gauges and a wide choice of exotic wood trims. Dual automatic temperature control, a six-disc CD changer, automatic headlamps and automatic ride control are standard.
Styling cues were taken from the Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph sedan, but it shares little mechanically with that BMW-engined car. Instead, the Corniche's body was set onto the older platform used for the similarly-styled Bentley Azure, making it the first and only Rolls-Royce developed from a Bentley rather than the other way around.
The Corniche was the only new Rolls-Royce developed under Volkswagen's ownership, before the marque was sold in 2003. All Corniches were completely hand-built. The car was considered a slightly softer, more exclusive version of the Azure.
The very last Rolls-Royce Corniche rolled off the assembly line on 30 August 2002. This was the very last Rolls-Royce to be made at the Crewe plant before it was turned over entirely to the production of Bentley models. Only 374 fifth-generation Corniches were ever built.
| Bentley Azure/Rolls-Royce Corniche body production figures* | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Body | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999** | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | Totals | ||||
| Azure | 3 | 160 | 229 | 200 | 209 | 141 | 189 | 194 | 78 | 1,403 | ||||
| Corniche | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 250 | 67 | 42 | 384 | ||||
| Totals | 3 | 160 | 229 | 200 | 209 | 166 | 439 | 261 | 120 | 1,787 | ||||
*stated by Pininfarina production records
**From 2 varying documents, newer data used