Welcome to Found Around The District, where we highlight fascinating cars we find around a city where people are too busy fighting through traffic and hunting for parking to drive anything interesting: Washington, D.C.
I may have misjudged you last week, District of Columbia. On a couple recent outings I have found some truly interesting rides on your streets that I can't wait to share with the Jalopnik commentariat. Chief among them was a pristine, bright red Jaguar E-Type Coupe I saw pulling into a parking lot in Georgetown on Saturday. I ran after him to take some photos, but he was gone. I will find this car! Even if it kills me.
But while I couldn't track down the Jaaaaaag, I still found you guys a great example of British classiness. What we have here is a Rolls-Royce Corniche II, a stylish status symbol for ostentatious one-percenters everywhere.
As HowStuffWorks tells it, this Rolls and its Bentley sister were made as a coupe and convertible offshoot of the Silver Shadow between 1966 and 1995. The Corniche badge was first put on it in 1971.
I found this cream-colored convertible model near Eighth Street last weekend. It's the kind of car that immediately stands out from everything else on the street. This one is a Corniche II, meaning it's likely from the mid-to-late 80s.
Styling wise, it's pretty standard Rolls fare with the signature "Spirit of Ecstasy" hood ornament, the long hood and gently arching rear fenders. It's a bit boring, but it's quite elegant.
At first I guessed this one was maybe from the mid-90s because it's in such pristine condition. I'm not sure if this comes off in my photos or not, but the damn thing looked practically brand new. My hat's off to whoever has taken such good care of it — that's can't be easy to do in a city that's so rough on cars. It's certainly nicer than the last Rolls-Royce we featured.
As always, bonus points to anyone who can tell me exactly what year this one is.
What's your favorite old-school Rolls?