I have a problem. It’s not a calamity, but it is a bit of a concern. I try to keep the types CCs I am posting in balance. As some of you may have noted, over the past couple of years, I have been alternating between Japanese and foreign car posts. Within the JDM stuff, I rotate the marques so that it’s not all Toyota/Nissan. For foreign cars, I try to alternate between American, British, German and Italian – with the odd French or other in there as well. My problem is that there are now too many Rolls-Royces in my to-write list. So here’s a quick Camargue, to ease the backlog.
Yes, it’ll be quick because it’s been done before – several times, in fact. And because I caught it where I usually catch Flying Ladies, and that place can make for challenging photography. This late model Camargue was certainly not the easiest to capture, but it’s better than the one I wrote up last year.
I like this Camargue a little more than the gray one I posted about in May of last year. For one, it was somewhat easier to access (though less than ideal) and, for another, the black colour suits it much better. Cars, like people, that are on the heavy side do wear very dark colours better. And boy, that Camargue is big.
It’s big, yet only four people can fit inside – and the ones behind better not be tall, either. I know, it’s all about exclusivity, not efficiency. But even RR’s customers found the Camargue to be a little much.
That’s not even mentioning the looks. Subjective subject to be sure, but still. I think the above angle is the only one where the Camargue looks good. Every other angle has major issues, especially when you get closer to that front end.
What were Pininfarina thinking? Even the story about the imperial/metric snafu feels like it would only have had a marginal impact on the overall effect. Hence perhaps why only 530-odd extremely well-heeled folks bought one of these between 1975 and 1986. That’s less than 50 Camargues sold per year on average.
At least this one, unlike the one I wrote up before, has the correct wheels. A very attractive design it is, too. It’s odd that they kept these for the Italianate Camargue; they would have worked much better on the Silver Shadow or the Corniche.
The Camargue was an expensive mistake for Rolls-Royce – one they never cared to repeat. Instead, they took their time, created the Bentley Continental R in-house in 1991 and never looked back to Turin for any major tailoring work, aside from a one-off drop-top in 2008 that was not commissioned by the factory.
Still, that rear end really isn’t too bad. Let’s end things on a good note and move on to other, more interesting Rollers. To be continued, sometime in the next few weeks…
Related posts:
Curbside Classics: Two Out Of Three Camargues, by Don Andreina
Curbside Classic: 1981 Rolls Royce Camargue – Much Ado About Nothing?, by JohnH875
Curbside Classic: 1983 Rolls-Royce Camargue – Turin’s Titanic Tailoring Tragedy, by T87
Cohort Capsule: Rolls Royce Camargue – A Gorgeous Flop, by Perry Shoar
That much coin, and you get a steering wheel that looks like a 3/4 scale bus wheel, and a column shifter like the fleet special Falcon? Yes, I know it’s electric, and at least in LHD form, it’s on the proper side of the column.
Styling seems to have been inspired by the Fiat 124 Sport Coupe, but at a 5/3 scale. It’s a total swing and a miss.
Semi wedge styling that was all the rage in 75. Year of the Tr7 , XJS and the Austin 18.22 series . The most expensive car in the US market. $147 000 according to Hagerthy? How many houses would have that brought?.
Say what you will… I actually like this car…too bad I can’t afford one!
I’d say it was most influenced by the Fiat 130. Compared to that car, the styling was compromised by being a very large car with a full frame which resulted in those high sides, or rather the fact that Pininfarina was no longer accustomed to dealing with them.
The 1977-79 Buick LeSabre and Pontiac Catalina/Bonneville coupes were similarly influenced, but did not suffer from the high-sided awkwardness of the Rolls. They were, of course, done in-house by GM Design.
Inspired not by the FIAT 124 Coupé, but by the FIAT 130 Coupé.
Have a look at Tyrrell´s Classic Workshop: Rolls-Royce Camargue – a surprising source of inspiration for the World`s priciest produktion car.
And the 130 Coupé is imo one of the World`s most beautifull cars!
https://www.drive.com.au/caradvice/feature-the-ugliest-mercedes-benz-ever-made-was-a-one-off-special-built-for-a-dutch-businessman-and-you-can-buy-it/
There was a story in a dutch paper (or magazine) about this car.
The rear end may not be too bad, but it’s awfully generic. If I were to look at any of these rear shots here out of context, I’d be hard pressed to actually identify this car (especially since it’s missing its trunklid badging). At least the front, awkward as it may be, is instantly identifiable as a Rolls-Royce (or, I suppose, a misshapen Lincoln Continental).
Incidentally, my daughter asked me recently how to pronounce Camargue, not because of car, but rather the Camargue horse breed. She assumed it was pronounced kam-ar-GOO. I referenced some previous CC posts which indicate it’s pronounced KAM-arg. I guess folks who didn’t know the correct pronunciation weren’t in this car’s target market anyway, but from my perspective, this is one of the most tough-to-figure-out model names that I can think of.
When I look at the rear view, I totally see a 1978 Impala.
Camargue is pronounced KA-MARR or KA-MARG, the same as the horse breed.
Jim,
Officially [as per Rolls-Royce] they pronounce it as the latter, with a hard G.
Not one of RR’s best, that’s for sure. Looks are very objective, but IMO this car is very bad looking. Even in it’s day.
Kumho Solus KR21s! IIRC those tires in that size (225/75r15 or 225/70r16) would have been OE fit on an older Hyundai Santa Fe, and a couple of years ago were phased out of Kumho’s lineup but continued to be made as Diehard branded private label tires for the zombie company using the Sears name, with the same tread and carcass but a different sidewall.
The car, eh. The Camargue has a silly name and styling by ruler.
It’s an odd-looking beast for sure. Sort of like a car in the early days of 3D graphics or video games when they had to ration the number of polygons with some “slightly off” looking geometry.
Lady Penelope would love it if it was pink !
I was raised in Los Angeles in the 70s and 80s and loved Rolls Royce spotting, I was always insulted when I would see one of these (which was far too often) They have never grown on me.
A longtime friend and fellow antique toy collector [as well as having an incredible Rolls-Royce & Bentley collection] bought a Camargue brand new. I’m fortunate to have had the pleasure of driving and riding in his car numerous times over the years. My number 1 comment about his car was that, in my opinion, he chose probably the worst possible color for a Camargue; Chocolate Brown with a matching interior. If you think it looks bad in black, imagine it in generic brown!
Back in the 1990s, the newest Rolls-Royce I owned was a 1985 Silver Spur, one of the 25 Centennial models the company produced to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the automobile. I mention this because it’s the closest vehicle I can use to compare the Camargue.
Both had the same ride, like that of a luxury cruise ship on a calm sea. But the forward view from the bridge on the Camargue gave me the impression that the little statue of Elinore Sykes out front was a lot further away from me. I also had the feeling the aircraft flight deck out front was much wider.
While I never did ride in the back seat, I knew people who did, and the general impression was the Camargue was intended for 2 people most of the time, with only occasional use by 4 adults. That said, I really can’t fault the designers, as this WAS a 2-door car intended for grand touring, not schlepping friends and the little rug rats around. That’s what the Camargue owner would use his or her Silver Spur for anyway.
So yes, the styling was quite unconventional for Rolls-Royce. That said, it might have had a better reception if it had been on a Bentley chassis instead. That way the designers could rightly claim it was intended as a more sporting luxury GT vehicle, and therefore perhaps the motoring press and public would have been less critical of it’s styling. I have always wondered why these cars used round headlights, instead of a pair of larger square lamps that would share the squared-off overall design of the front. This concept was a topic my friend and I discussed, and he suggested that the factory was expecting to sell most of the Camargue production to north America, where the round lamps were required.
Would I want to own one? While I won’t say absolutely not, The Camargue is situated pretty low on the list of coachbuilt V8 Rolls-Royces I would want in my vast [pretend] car collection, behind the Phantom 5 limousine or landaulet. My car friends who know me well, also know I have little interest in anything made in Crewe after the original Silver Cloud, as I far prefer the 6 cylinder cars. Why stop at the Cloud I? Because as someone who likes working on my own cars, and having run a Rolls-Royce repair & restoration shop, I know how much maintenance the newer V8 cars require!