Rolls-Royce Corniche Convertible $363,990

By : Micheal Frank

The Corniche Convertible may be the world's last completely anachronistic automobile. That is, it's a Rolls-Royce, a car in which anyone with any sense would want to be driven. And yet the Corniche has less backseat room than a C-Class Mercedes-Benz--and you could buy a dozen C-Classes for one Corniche Convertible. Also, there's only seven cubic feet of trunk space, which isn't much better than the trunk space of a Mazda Miata. OK, you don't buy a Rolls to be practical, but the car at least should be big, right?

Also, Rolls-Royce is a company under new management, namely, BMW's. And that muddies the picture even further, since the Corniche shares an engine with Bentley, the 6.75-liter V-8. But even if Corniche cars are still made after 2002 (BMW is working on a replacement for the $229,990 Silver Seraph, set to debut in summer 2003), it isn't clear if BMW will continue to purchase them from Bentley.

Meanwhile, there's the 2002 Corniche, which is in production only until the end of this summer. True, it is sort of a white elephant, but at least it's a known quantity in that it will have the grand torque (544 foot pounds) of an old Rolls, as well as the plushest ride on the planet. That's not only thanks to a huge wheelbase for what is really a sort of cushy GT, but also due to computer-actuated dampers, auto ride-height control and load compensation controls that level the ride no matter the disparity in passenger weight (should you have your grand, fat, old aunt Gertrude Godiva riding shotgun at some point).

We'd give you more specs, but every Corniche is made to order, from the paint to the wood, hide, trim, even the position of the intercrossed Rs in the cockpit. The only thing we'd wager will be the same on every Corniche (unless you somehow wanted it omitted) is the flying lady on the hood.