Rolls-Royce Camargue
| Rolls-Royce Camargue | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Rolls-Royce Motors |
| Production | 1975–1986 531 produced |
| Designer | Paolo Martin for Pininfarina |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Luxury car |
| Body style | 2-door saloon |
| Layout | FR layout |
| Related |
Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow Rolls-Royce Corniche Bentley T-series |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 6.75 L (412 cid) Rolls-Royce V8 |
| Transmission | 3-sp TH400 automatic |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 120 in (3,048 mm) |
| Length | 203.5 in (5,169 mm) |
| Width | 75.5 in (1,918 mm) |
| Height | 58 in (1,473 mm) |
| Curb weight | 5,135 lb (2,329 kg) |
The Rolls-Royce Camargue is a 2-door luxury saloon manufactured and marketed by Rolls-Royce Motors from 1975-1986. Designed by Paolo Martin at Pininfarina, the Camargue was the first post-war production Rolls Royce not designed in-house.
The Camargue derives its name from the coastal region in southern France; the name was also used on the 1972 Citroën GS Camargue.
At launch, the Camargue was the Rolls-Royce's flagship and the most expensive production car in the world, eventually selling in North America for approximately US$147,000 ($588,000 in 2008 dollars). At its official U.S. launch, the Camargue had already been on sale in the UK for over a year. The New York Times made much of the fact that the U.S. price at this stage was approximately $15,000 higher than the UK price. In the 1970s, many European models retailed for significantly less in the U.S. than they did in Europe in order to compete with prices set aggressively by Detroit's Big Three and Japanese importers. The manufacturer rejected this approach with the Camargue, referencing the high cost of safety and pollution engineering needed to adapt the few cars (approximately 30 per year) it expected to send to North America in 1976.
The recommended price of a new Camargue at launch on the UK market in March 1975 was £29,250, including sales taxes. Rapid currency depreciation would greatly raise the price of the Camargue in the late 1970s, both in the UK and North America.
The car was sold in very limited numbers in European, American, Canadian, Australian and Asian markets.
At its 1975 press debut, Rolls-Royce highlighted automatic split-level climate control system, the first of its kind. According to Rolls Royce, the system's development took eight years.
...
Wikipedia