Unique, historic Rolls-Royce arrives at Rusnak Rolls-Royce in Pasadena

Since 1948 about 108,000 Rolls-Royce and Bentley Motor Cars have been built at Crewe in England’s northwest industrial area. Now, the very last Rolls-Royce cars have rolled off the production line and one of the last 56 to be built at this historic factory is on display and available at Rusnak Rolls-Royce in Pasadena.

According to Michael Burger, sales manager of Rusnak Rolls-Royce, "This very special Corniche Convertible is waiting for that very special purchaser who is about to take possession of a part of automotive history."

Production of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars in Crewe, England has now ceased following the break-up of Rolls-Royce and Bentley. Beginning Jan.1, 2003, Rolls-Royce production under the ownership of BMW moves to their new home near Goodwood in Surrey, to the south and west of London where an all new Rolls-Royce model will be built. Production of Bentley Automobiles, under the ownership of Volkswagen, will remain in Crewe, where a new breed of Bentleys will be introduced.

With only 56 of the final production run of Rolls-Royce cars available in North America, there is only a limited window of opportunity to view and acquire one of these spectacular collectible automobiles.

The few remaining cars not only represent the highest level of achievement in beauty, materials and workmanship, but they also certainly enjoy special status as true collectibles. They contain specially commissioned features representing the last of the breed.

"These cars benefit from many design advancements and developments during their production run, making them the best of the series. The fact that these are the final Rolls-Royce cars to come from Crewe obviously make these cars important historical objects coming from the world’s premier motorcar manufacturer," Burger added.

For more than 56 years the quality of the long line of Rolls-Royce motor cars produced by the craftsmen and women at Crewe set a standard in the automotive world that has never been matched. On Dec. 31, 2002, more than 2,000 workers in the Pyms Lane factory at Crewe will say goodbye to Rolls-Royce, as the world’s preeminent luxury brand passes to new ownership.

On Fri., June 5, 1998, the announcement that Volkswagen AG had won the takeover battle for the ownership of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd, beating off competition from BMW AG, came as some surprise.

The final decision was taken by the shareholders of Vickers Plc, owner of Rolls-Royce Motors, at an extraordinary general meeting at which Chairman Sir Colin Chandler announced that 5.1million shareholders had voted in favor of Volkswagen AG and 109,000 against. The meeting had been stormy, with angry outbursts from small investors who wanted to keep the company British.

Volkswagen AG’s offer had been the highest on the table– £430m–although the total consideration could be up to £470m to reflect the rise in working capital in the business. The deal meant that Volkswagen AG comfortably beat a £340m bid from BMW.

Following the sale, it was necessary to address the issue of the Rolls-Royce name. The marque was then owned by Rolls-Royce Plc, the aero engines group which has strong business links with BMW and had backed its bid. In fact, Crewe had never owned these rights and since 1971 had operated under license from Rolls-Royce Plc. The final negotiated outcome agreed with all parties, and was that BMW would acquire the rights to the Rolls-Royce name and other trademarks associated with Rolls-Royce, including the Spirit of Ecstasy. In addition, BMW would continue to supply engines to Bentley and Rolls-Royce at Crewe. From January 2003, Rolls-Royce’s would be built at Goodwood by BMW. Of course, none of this affected Volkswagen AG’s ownership of Bentley and the Crewe site.

Rusnak Rolls-Royce and Bentley is part of the Rusnak Automotive Group, with dealerships in Pasadena and Westlake Village.

By the way, there are models of these spectacular cars available for test drive and sale. And yes, if you have to ask the price you probably can’t afford it.