BENTLEY SPOTTING

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Saturday, September 25, 2010

Hooper & Co. Corporate Collection to be Auctioned

There has been rumours around for a while that the John Dick who owns Hooper & Co. would be selling the Hooper Corporate Collection of cars.

It has turned out to be true.

The Hooper Corporate Collection will be auctioned as part of the RM Auctions Automobiles of London programme on October 27, 2010, 4:00 PM - 11:00 PM GMT at Battersea Evolution, in Battersea Park London, United Kingdom SW11 4NJ.

It gives us an opportunity to expand the largest collection of Hooper & Co. photos online here.



Now to the first Hooper car on the blocks. A Rolls-Royce Silver Corniche by Hooper & Co. (Coachbuilders) Ltd.

I totally made up the name of this car, but I think it suits.



That's right, it started life as a Rolls-Royce Corniche Coupe, then went to the Hooper works and drank some Spirits.



As Jeremy Clarkson once said, "They Hooperised it".



The front Silver Shadow lamps were removed and replaced by Silver Spirit lamps, as was the bumper bar.

It is quite unique to see a Silver Shadow sized grill paired with Silver Spirit lamps.



This was also the case with the rear.



New front and rear wings were also redesigned to fit the new lamps.

Note the four exhaust pipes.





The interior is also stunning.





From the auction catalogue:

1980 Rolls-Royce Corniche Two-Door Saloon Coachwork by Hooper, Chassis No.CRX50264.



- From the Hooper Corporate Collection
- Single ownership from new



- Unique one-off custom coachwork by Hooper with bespoke interior and exterior
- Driven just 15,000 miles since new



"Though Corniche Two-Door Saloon production officially ended in 1977, this vehicle was the last coupé Rolls-Royce produced and was delivered in 1979 after which it was transformed by its original and current owner, the Hooper Corporate Collection."



"The one-owner, one-off car was custom-built to the vendor’s specifications with no expense spared at the time of construction."



"Everything is hand-crafted and bespoke to this particular Corniche. The cost of Hooper’s custom coachwork far exceeded the original price of the car when new"



"The work took some 18 months to complete with thousands of hours of work and hundreds of major and minor changes."



"In addition to the dramatic turquoise metallic colour, the exterior has been specially fitted with a limousine-style back window along with a Silver Spirit front-end and rear section to give the car a more modern and classic, albeit updated, look. It has also been fitted with chrome wire wheels, fog lights, bespoke twin exhausts, and chrome rocker panel sills to complete the exterior transformation. It has also been fitted with Bailey sport suspension components, which give the car more agile driving dynamics not usually associated with Rolls-Royce automobiles."



"The interior is swathed in Connelly leather, including the dash and steering wheel which are covered to match the striking exterior colour. The centre console of the car is equipped with a Howard Becker (of Beverly Hills) stereo entertainment system that cost well over $30,000."



"Mechanically the car has not been changed from its original configuration when delivered. Though showing evidence of some use under the bonnet, the car has been used minimally but regularly and shows just 15,000 miles on its odometer. Initially, the car was driven in the United Kingdom. Somewhat later it was shipped to the United States where it saw little use while in California. It was then shipped back to the UK and has been used sparingly since."



This is a car that will not be liked by everyone, but it has to be said, the car is stunning.



Thanks to Andy for the info.

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2 Comments:

At 10:41 am, Anonymous Anonymous said...

thank you!

amazing


I wish for a new Hooper 2 door Mulsanne!

 
At 1:50 am, Anonymous Anonymous said...

According to the chassis number, this car is 16 cars before my Corniche FHD CRH50280, and yet it's interior is much more modern, more like a Corniche 11.

 

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