I‘d buy it just for the shifter. Like something out of the bus that took us to middle school.
Photography Courtesy Aguttes
Love luxury, but also love getting dirty? Well, this 1981 Rolls-Royce Corniche dubbed “Jules” might be right up your alley. It may be pricey, but it does possess some of the GRM spirit.
This Rolls-Royce tackled one of the most iconic rallies: the original Paris-Dakar in 1981. Thierry de Montcorgé, described as a “dandy playboy adventurer” by the seller, met with friend Jean-Christophe Pelletier and Jean-François Dunac over dinner and this wild idea was hatched. Even crazier, they found a sponsor in Christian Dior.
The Corniche consists of a fiberglass body, tube-framed Toyota BJ chassis, 5.7-liter Corvette V8, Rolls-Royce power steering, and a bespoke 332-liter fuel tank (that’s nearly 88 gallons). Too bad they didn’t have build threads back then.
How did Jules do in the rally? Reportedly, the Rolls busted a hole in its oil pan in Algeria, and then later busted a front axle. It did finish the event, however, albeit via a train ride on the Bamako-Kayes Railway. The promoter of the event permitted de Montcorgé to bring Jules to the end as the car generated quite a bit of publicity.
Rolls-Royce didn’t seem to love the attention, though. The company sent Monsieur de Montcorgé a letter, stating “Be kind, in the future, not to repeat this kind of experience!” Fortunately, we assume you didn’t get the letter, so you now have a chance to go back in time and replicate the feat by entering it into a Dakar Classic.
Find this Rolls-Royce Prototype “Jules” ex Paris-Dakar–1981 for auction at Aguttes, with an estimated value of €400,000-€800,000 (approximately $420,000-$840,000 USD).
I‘d buy it just for the shifter. Like something out of the bus that took us to middle school.
That's really cool although I'm a bit disappointed that it doesn't have more Rolls-Royce and less Toyota.
I want to thank you guys for the, um, brain-expanding experience of clicking on the link and reading the auction description.
(Pro tip: If anybody else wants to try it, being able to speak half-decent French will help you read the English, up to a point.)
APEowner said:That's really cool although I'm a bit disappointed that it doesn't have more Rolls-Royce and less Toyota.
I'm sure some new Rolls-Royce owners want more Rolls and less BMW, too. 
Imagine pulling up to a rally and seeing a Rolls-Royce pull up to the start line. That's when you know your going to be in for a treat.
The description is wonderful.
The funniest thing to me is that they build a fiberglass body, put it on a Toyota chassis, jammed in a SBC...and used Rolls power steering? Of all the things to retain, why that?
This might just be the coolest thing I've ever seen.
Has it been done as a Lemons theme yet?
I had no idea there was so little Rolls there; which makes the interior among the coolest things to me! They didn't just not gut a Rolls, they put what appears to be much of a Rolls interior in a fiberglass race truck!
Bonus points for being a coupé.
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