Rolls-Royce One-Off

Information

1978 Rolls-Royce Camargue Sbarro Falcon Hunting Car

Previously owned by the king of Morocco, Hassan II. He wanted a vehicle suitable for falcon hunting, so he contacted Franco Sbarro, who had built, from the ground up, a six-wheeled falcon hunting vehicle called the Windhalk for the King of Saudi Arabia, King Khalid. The Windhawk was completely bespoke, with the only requirement being a Mercedes 6.9L V8. What King Hassan II wanted was a bespoke, one-off 1978 Rolls-Royce Camargue coupé fitted for falcon hunting. Internally, nothing to do with the powertrain changed, but many things were altered to provide a better hunting experience.

This vehicle is customized to be a purpose-built falcon hunting car, so to accommodate the falcons, a chrome bar can be raised or lowered to act like a perch for the birds. The falconer has a small platform which opens from the very rear of the car and is the trunk when closed and not in use. There is no roof to help provide maximum visibility around the car. The closest thing to a roof is a removable soft top that covers both front and back seats, along with the door sills. It also features a windshield that folds down to provide even more visibility. When driving, there are no doors so that the passengers can get in and out as quickly as possible while hunting, but there are two bars, one on each side, that can be added for extra safety.

This bespoke Rolls-Royce can comfortably fit four passengers with air conditioning. When originally built, it featured the coat of arms of the Moroccan royal family, which has now been replaced with the regular RR Rolls-Royce badge. This car has been a highly unusual and niche car, and yet it still managed to pull in around €250,000 in the early 2020s. During the period it was up for sale, it was featured in the German TV show Perfect Cars, season 2, episode 42. While being a highly controversial car with people opposed to the Moroccan royal family questioning the need for such a vehicle, standing on its own, it is a piece of art that was made perfectly for one specific hobby: falcon hunting.