The Pininfarina-styled halo model may have previewed future Rolls-Royce design, but it only saw a modest production run.
It wasn’t long ago when seeing a Rolls-Royce on the street was a rare event. The bespoke British luxury car maker was producing merely hundreds of examples of each model per year just 20 years ago, and another couple decades before that an entire model run could add up to just over 500 cars.
The Rolls-Royce Camargue was certainly one of those cars that now make modern Rolls-Royce vehicles seem mass produced, and in a few days one of these rare beasts will be up for auction when Bonhams offers the large, boxy coupe at its Amelia Island auction.
The Camargue is seldom remembered as the halo model of the range, but that’s what it was for over a decade. Arriving in 1975 the large coupe was styled by Pininfarina, which had actually offered the design first to Mercedes-Benz, but also managed to sell something very similar to Fiat, which resulted in the production 130 coupe.
In the hands of Rolls-Royce, the visually heavy design was applied to a car with a generous wheelbase and massive presence, but in places revealed its Italian roots, particularly in the geometry of the rear fascia. The design prompted some unflattering reactions at the time, but seemed to fit right in with large American personal coupes of the day, even seeming a bit small in comparison to some contemporaries.
This Camargue received a repaint and an interior retrim at some point.
Bonhams
Powered by a 6.75-liter V8 paired with a three-speed automatic sourced from General Motors, the Camargue was based largely on the Corniche and Silver Shadow of the time, so Rolls’ investment was not as lavish as it may have seemed, with such a small production run.
In comparison to those two models, which were entering their twilight years when the Camargue went into production, the large coupe was actually quite roomy inside, with its proportions previewing the later Silver Spirit and Mulsanne, which spawned a surprisingly vast number of sub-variants, stretching almost into the year 2000.
The design of the Camargue ended up influencing the next quarter century of Bentley and Rolls-Royce vehicles, one could say. In 11 years of production, about 530 examples were built, including one finished as a Bentley. Out of that total, just over a couple dozen were sold stateside, with the bulk staying in Europe.
“Original U.S. list prices were approximately $148,000, making Camargues perilously expensive, and in today’s money they would eclipse the cost of almost all new cars,” the auction house notes.
“The prohibitive cost, paired with the lengthy production build time, undoubtedly accounted for the modest numbers built; perhaps some of those in the line gave up waiting and chose to take the two Silver Shadows instead, or a handful of other cars?”
The car is said to require some recommissioning work, as it had been on display for a number of years.
Bonhams
The car that Bonhams will offer in a few days is a 1980 example finished in Masons Laurel that was supplied new to a buyer in Italy. At some point the Camargue received a repaint to a color called Crown, in addition to an interior retrim.
The auction house says the early history of the car is not known—the current consignor purchased the car in 2013 and had it on static display since that time. As such, it may need some degree of recommissioning service. Curiously enough, Bonhams does not state the car’s displayed or claimed kilometrage.
The auction house estimates this Camargue will bring between $40,000 and $60,000.
The estimate range here perhaps reflects some unknown history as well as a repaint, though in practice quite a few of these that aren’t neglected have needed some cosmetic work over the years.
Unlike its contemporaries, which can still be found for the price of a well-used commuter car from a decade ago, the Camargue is a much rarer item, so the number of truly neglected examples is small, but so is the number of shoppers seeking a Camargue. With correct service, these coupes are very capable of producing some breathtaking bills even if the price of admission may seem easy to finance.
As such, demand for them tends to be quite a bit narrower than for some other models, including its four-door contemporaries, which can be had for a fraction of its price. Furthermore, there is no massive wave on the horizon that could suddenly propel their values past a certain point, unlike those of 1980s supercars at the moment. So appreciation potential remains rather flat.
Visit the auction website to view the full list of lots and auction schedule.
Keyword: Rolls-Royce Camargue Heads to Auction