1984 Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit Cabriolet
Coachwork by Rolls-Royce and Autoconstruzioni Torino


Chassis no. SCAZS42A6ECX08250

 

•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.