Rolls-Royce Camargue (codenamed Delta) was the first production car of the company, the body of which was created by foreign designers. The Italian bureau Pininfarina was tasked to produce a Camargue body for installation on the Silver Shadow chassis. Work on this model started at Mulliner Park Ward in 1971. After five years of preparation in 1975, the production of the Camargue coupe began. Obliged by the name of the area in the south of France, where herds of wild horses were driven, this exclusive car was intended for customers who prefer to drive it themselves and who want to combine the traditional Rolls quality with a stylish hand-made body.
Since 1978, Pressed Steel was supposed to supply the finished body bottoms to Motor Panels in Coventry, which manufactured the body itself and shipped them to Crewe. There they underwent anti-corrosion treatment, painting and entered the assembly shop. Camargue was produced only in the two-door version. The body gave the impression of heaviness. The car turned out long and wide. Length - 5170 mm, width - 1920 mm, height - 1470 mm.
Wheelbase 3048 mm. Experts tend to believe that the style features were borrowed from the Bentley T, built for James Hanson in 1968, and from the elegant FIAT 130 Coupe. But in general, the appearance of the Camargue still turned out to be individual. The hood was decorated with the famous Rolls-Royce emblem - Spirit of Ecstasy.
In the cabin there were four separate seats. The coupe was equipped with a V-shaped eight-cylinder engine (6,750 cm ³), an automatic transmission with hydraulics from General Motors and an independent suspension. Top speed was 119 mph. Camargue cost per year debut was 29,250 pounds. For some time he was the most expensive British car. In the early 80s, the price increased to 83 thousand pounds.
In the year it was possible to sell only 20-25 cars, which by the standards of Rolls-Royce did not provide profitability. For 11 years, it sold only 531 copies. In 1986, they released the latest series of 25 snow-white coupes with a red leather interior commissioned by an American Rolls-Royce dealer, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the sale of the first car in the USA.
This series was completed with a whole set of luxurious attributes from a phone and a leather case to a silver fountain pen and silver-plated flasks with a monogram of the owner.
