Photo: Classic Car Auctions
Even though the epic space opera has taken a turn for the worse after Lucasfilm sold the franchise to Walt Disney, Star Wars continues to make the headlines because, well, it’s Star Wars. The latest subject that concerns the franchise is an old Rolls-Royce, which was owned by the actor who played R2-D2 in six movies.
Kenny Baker, who passed away on August 13, 2016, had bought the Rolls-Royce Corniche featured in the photo gallery on June 6, 2002. Heading to auction with a partial history file and a MOT that's valid until July 2017, this Corniche fixed-head coupe shows 76,500 miles on the odometer.
The 3-foot 8-inch (1.12-meter) tall actor famously said in an interview that he often went to the supermarket in his big blue luxurious coupe. One time, the late actor had “a nice lad” put the shopping bags in the car’s trunk. “I can’t reach it,” he declared for The Guardian in a story published in April 2016.
David Barnett, the author, highlights that Kenny could drive the car by sitting on a pile of cushions on the driver’s seat. Furthermore, blocks of wood were taped to the pedals for Kenny to reach them. Ingenuity at its finest, I’d say. Furthermore, I have this gut feeling that this is the only Rolls-Royce Corniche fixed-head coupe out there to have been modified in such a way.
Estimated to fetch anything between £33,000 to £36,000 at the CCA September 2016 classic car sale, this is but one of 1,108 fixed-head coupes built. Total production for the Corniche, including convertibles, stands at 6,254 units manufactured by Rolls-Royce and Mulliner Park Ward between 1971 and 1987. Being a 1982 model, the Corniche fixed-head coupe the Star Wars actor used to own is gifted with Bosch-developed fuel injection.
In this configuration, the 6.75-liter V8 churns out 237 hp or thereabout. Due to the weight of the Corniche FHC and the limitations of the three-speed automatic transmission, top speed doesn’t exceed 118 mph (190 km/h).
This Corniche FHC from the 1980s also happens to show some patina, but then again, its celebrity history certainly adds to its intrinsic value.
The 3-foot 8-inch (1.12-meter) tall actor famously said in an interview that he often went to the supermarket in his big blue luxurious coupe. One time, the late actor had “a nice lad” put the shopping bags in the car’s trunk. “I can’t reach it,” he declared for The Guardian in a story published in April 2016.
David Barnett, the author, highlights that Kenny could drive the car by sitting on a pile of cushions on the driver’s seat. Furthermore, blocks of wood were taped to the pedals for Kenny to reach them. Ingenuity at its finest, I’d say. Furthermore, I have this gut feeling that this is the only Rolls-Royce Corniche fixed-head coupe out there to have been modified in such a way.
Estimated to fetch anything between £33,000 to £36,000 at the CCA September 2016 classic car sale, this is but one of 1,108 fixed-head coupes built. Total production for the Corniche, including convertibles, stands at 6,254 units manufactured by Rolls-Royce and Mulliner Park Ward between 1971 and 1987. Being a 1982 model, the Corniche fixed-head coupe the Star Wars actor used to own is gifted with Bosch-developed fuel injection.
In this configuration, the 6.75-liter V8 churns out 237 hp or thereabout. Due to the weight of the Corniche FHC and the limitations of the three-speed automatic transmission, top speed doesn’t exceed 118 mph (190 km/h).
This Corniche FHC from the 1980s also happens to show some patina, but then again, its celebrity history certainly adds to its intrinsic value.
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