•Commissioned by Dino Fabbri of Fratelli Fabbri Editori
•Cabriolet conversion by Autoconstruzioni Torino
•Unique specification
This car is one of three Rolls-Royces purchased in the
1980s by Dino Fabbri, co-founder of the famous Italian publishing house
Fratelli Fabbri Editori with his brothers Giovanni and Ettore, who commissioned
their conversion into the cabriolet configuration. None of these Rolls-Royce models
was ever offered by the factory in open form, and so their modification was
undertaken in Italy by Salvatore Diomante's specialist company,
Autoconstruzioni Torino.
Announced in the autumn of 1980 and typically Rolls-Royce in so far as it
represented evolution rather than revolution, the Silver Spirit was based on
the preceding Silver Shadow II to which it bore a distinct family resemblance.
The Shadow's floor pan was retained and power train differences were minimal,
the Spirit's chief advance over its immediate forebear being the heavily
revised and improved type of rear suspension that had first appeared on the
company's two-door models. The styling too came in for revision, with a lower
waistline, increased glass area, and a more modern angular look; rectangular
headlights graced the front of a Rolls-Royce for the first time and the
oft-changed radiator became wider and squatter. Inside, the Crewe firm's
exemplary standards of equipment and finish were maintained, the most
noticeable change being the adoption of separate rear seats and the
reinstatement of folding picnic tables.
Special features abound on Dino Fabbri's ultra-luxurious Rolls-Royces,
including gold-plated wire wheels with 'RR' emblems; rear-view cameras; TV and
video equipment; and deep-buttoned Chesterfield-type Connolly leather seating
with matching convertible hood. A seemingly limitless amount of money was
lavished on these three cars and it shows; indeed, it is said that the
crocodile-skin leather used for the 1987 Silver Spirit's interior cost more
than the average American single-family home...
Following Dino Fabbri's death in December 2001, his son Ottavio Fabbri, the
famous artist, sold the collection. The car was later purchased at auction in Paris
in 2019, and then spent 4 years in a private collection in Kuwait before being
acquired and shipped to the USA. This car is being sold with a clear Maryland title.