2001 Rolls-Royce Corniche V

Rolls-Royce Corniche V (Saloon), 2000-2002

The Rolls-Royce Corniche V was in production from 2000 until 2002. Styled in house by Stephen Harper, it is a front-engine, rear wheel drive convertible seating five adults.

Corniche V is not an official designation used by Rolls-Royce, but one used by marque enthusiasts to differentiate the car from the earlier Silver Shadow-based series. The Corniche V was the only Rolls-Royce launched by Volkswagen, using the name under licence while BMW was readying its new production facility. Sharing a close physical resemblance with the Silver Seraph saloon, under the skin it shared little with the car - being based instead upon the existing convertible architecture of the Bentley Azure model. This meant that the old L-series V8 was back, along with a turbocharger and a GM 4 speed automatic gearbox - and it makes the Corniche V the only Rolls-Royce to have been developed from a Bentley, rather than the other way round.

Marketed as a less sporting and more exclusive variant of the Azure (at £250,000 it was £12000 more expensive than the Bentley upon which it was based), the Corniche was sold for just 2 years with 374 finding homes across the world. The very last Rolls-Royce to be built in the Crewe facility was the Corniche Last of Line edition, one of just 45 commemorative cars meant to draw a line under a chapter of Rolls-Royce history.

The most obvious competitor would be the Bentley Azure, given that underneath both cars lie basically the same componentry and inner structure. We would understand if you wanted to consider the later Bentley Azure, or the Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn, but these tend to be more common and have a slightly different image. Earlier Corniches are better value but less exclusive. If we were considering real alternatives, we'd look at cars like the Maybach 57 or the Aston Martin V8 Volante - truly exclusive cars that are a cut above even the standard Rolls-Royce models in terms of exclusivity.