1981 Rolls-Royce Corniche FHC

Everything about this car is utterly extraordinary and remarkable.

Let’s start with the quantity and quality of history and provenance accompanying it.

It took three of us an hour to get all the boxes of paperwork, photographs, gongs, medals, cups, plates and trophies up the stairs at our HQ and, at one point, we thought we’d need to rig-up some block and tackle to get the job done.

Then there’s the fact that its original owner was JCB magnate Lord Anthony Bamford’s mother.

Need more?

OK. The car has effectively been restored three times while in the 30+ year ownership of the vendor, with all of the most recent work done by RR&B over the last 20 or so years.

And what a job they’ve done. 

The car was restored with a view to winning concours awards. Two (very) heavy boxes of cups, medals, rosettes and plaques from concours events in Britain, Ireland and Europe attest to the exceptional quality of the work done.

Still not enough for you? Try this.

The vendor has spent in excess of £400,000 on this car during his ownership.

Yes. You read that right.

Last but not least in this catalogue of extraordinary facts is the car’s mileage, which is thought to be just north of 250,000 miles (the vendor and RR&B think there’s about 40,000 miles missing from the odometer).

And yet the truly astonishing thing about this car is that even though it’s covered a distance greater than that from the Earth to the Moon, it looks as if it could have left the factory last week.

And it drives as well as it looks.

Frankly, we’re lost for words to describe this truly unique Corniche.

The car is finished in Nutmeg over Silver Sand with twin Nutmeg fine coach lines, contrasting Beige hide interior piped in Nutmeg, with a Nutmeg top roll and hide bound steering wheel. Beige Wilton carpets and Nutmeg Lambswool over rugs complete the look. 

Currently sporting later 16” alloy wheels, the original 15” wheels and hub-caps are available with the car.

This is one of the rare and sought-after cars with a chassis in the ‘50000’ number range. It comes with the mineral hydraulic braking system and has been sympathetically upgraded with more reliable SU carbs, later rear suspension levelling system, Lobo drive shafts, and electronic Silver Spirit wing mirrors. 

This car is a joy to behold.

The bodywork is pretty much immaculate and there are no dinks, dents, creases, ripples or folds anywhere that we can see.

The door shuts and panel gaps are consistent and even. The vendor sourced and bought the last two original Mulliner aluminium doors and had them fitted to replace items that had worn a trifle thin in places.

The 16” wheels are beyond reproach, as are the matching Avon tyres. As stated earlier, the original 15” wheels can be made available with the car.

The paint work is among the best we have ever seen on any resprayed car.

The depth and richness of the shine and lustre achieved make this two-tone beauty really pop and sing in the sunshine.

We looked in vain for anything to complain about, eventually concluding that even entirely standard things like stone chips are far more notable for their absence than their presence.

The chrome-work gleams and dazzles everywhere you cast your gaze. The vendor, who is an expert jeweller, spent 40 hours working on the mascot in order to make it the best example you’ll probably ever find.

The lights, lenses, badging, and other exterior fixtures and fittings are all in equally irreproachable order.

Unsurprisingly, the fabulous preservation and condition continues unabated on the inside.

The beige leather upholstery has little more than a few light creases in evidence, let alone any ingrained patina.

The seats, front and back, are comfortable, supportive and functional. 

The carpets are in fine fettle, as are the deep lambswool rugs.

The door cars and headlining are very much following the same script.

If you’re surprised that the wood on the dashboard and elsewhere has resisted the usual temptations to split, crack its lacquer or part company with its varnish – don’t be. The vendor had everything re-veneered using what he describes as ‘proper’ techniques. 

The results speak for themselves, and the only place we found any splits to the lacquer was on the inside of the glove compartment lid.

The only clues to age and use we could find anywhere were one or two tiny scuffs to the leather on the central storage box, a couple of shallow indentations on the top roll above the glove compartment, and the odd spot of glue visible around the rubber door seals. 

The steering wheel, gear selector and other controls look as squeaky clean and minty fresh as the rest of it.

We didn’t tweak every lever, press every knob or flick every switch, but those we did tweak, press and flick did as they were told without complaint or unseemly shows of attitude. 

The boot is in similarly fine fettle.

The engine bay is clean, dry, and tidy. 

Everything appears to be in its right and proper place.

It would be. This car is a bit special.

Even the sound insulation cladding under the bonnet looks virtually factory-fresh.

The car’s undersides look like those you might find on a vehicle that’s taking its first youthful steps into the world, not one that’s got over a quarter of a million miles under its belt. 

We’ve seen absolutely nothing to make us shake our heads or tut.

We can’t recall ever encountering a car with more, or better documented, history and provenance.

Every penny of the more than £400,000 spent on it is accounted for, and annotated and recorded in forensic detail. 

We can’t possibly do justice to it here. 

It has an MoT that’s valid until 23.5.25. 

In common with every MoT exam it’s sat sit 2006, this one was passed with no advisories.

We’re as certain as we can be that we won’t see a better Corniche than this anywhere outside of a museum.

Forget the mileage. It’s irrelevant. Everything on this car has been restored, repaired or upgraded - except the rear diff - and it’s been fastidiously maintained to within an inch of its very long life at all times.

It needs to be seen to be believed.

We’re confident to offer this fine car for auction with an estimate of £45,000 - £55,000. 

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at Bonhams|Cars Online HQ. Viewings are strictly by appointment.  To make a booking, please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, and read our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.