Rolls-Royce Corniche

The story

The Corniche was the two-door Silver Shadow given its own name. Each one took months to build, with the body finished by hand in London. The convertible stayed in production for nearly a quarter of a century.

Inside

As lavish as a Shadow, with a power hood lined so thickly that it is as quiet as a saloon when raised.

In period colours

Tap a colour to respray the drawing.

Meanwhile, in 1971

Britain switched to decimal money in February.

Best-selling single of 1971: My Sweet Lord by George Harrison

Before you buy a 1970s car

• Rust is common in sills, wheel arches, front panels and the bottom of the doors.
• Check the wiring and electrics carefully, as they age badly.
• Many volume-selling cars still have good parts support, but badge-engineered and low-volume models can be harder to source.

General notes, not specific to this model. Check the model's own history before buying.

Rivals of its day

Picked automatically: cars on sale at the same time with similar size, speed and price.

See the real thing

These open in a new tab: the car on Wikimedia Commons, the interior and the badge as Google image searches.