AIR SUPPLY

One of the Camargue’s most hi-tech features was its advanced airconditioning. Rolls-Royce claimed it had taken 10 years of development toautomatic, and while this wasn’t new (Jaguar, for example, having come up with something similar in 1973), where the Camargue went further was that it was also split-level, distributing air at between 17 to 33 degrees Celsius (63 to 91 degrees Fahrenheit) at face and floor levels. To make this possible, four sensors were fitted inside and out, one of which even compensated for the sun glare. In theory, a Camargue could be driven from artic conditions to a tropical climate and the temperature would remain constant with no input needed from passengers. Almost half a century ago, this was a groundbreaking system. To explain it, RollsRoyce’s instruction booklet ran to 30 pages, albeit going into much more proud engineering detail than strictly necessary. So advanced was the set-up that it was still in use in Corniches and Azures in 2003.