As of Friday January 18 you now have the unique opportunity to pick up a new one-of-a-kind Rolls-Royce. Long Island artisan Niko Sokol’s remarkable craftsmanship has won him numerous clients and collectors who adore his custom convertibles and touring cars, all based on Rolls-Royce and Mercedes-Benz models. Having recently completed his last coachbuilt automobile, Sokol has retired and is now devoting his time to exquisite sculptures inspired by automotive design and materials.
The very special edition car was built by Niko-Michael Coachworks and is the only retractable hardtop Rolls-Royce Camargue ever produced, at the behest of a client of Carriage House Motor Cars in New York City. Carriage House supplied a new 75th Anniversary Camargue, the second of the last 12 Camargues produced with numerous special and unique options, which Niko professionally engineered into a convertible.
Originally, the top was manually operated, as the client grew impatient and took delivery before Sokol completed the system. After the Calumet Collection acquired the Camargue, it was taken back to Sokol, who after 25 years completed the car by fitting a remote control-operated electric motor to finally complete the installation. The top is truly fascinating to watch in operation; composed of two panels, precision-fit with very tight tolerances, it is unbuckled from the headliner, then telescopes into a ‘stack’ that moves under the rear deck through a narrow hatch in the rear package shelf.
In remarkable original condition with just 927 actual miles at the time of cataloguing, the car is accompanied by its complete original tool set, a crystal cocktail set, a collection of build documentation, and a copy of a documentary produced for the Calumet Collection, covering Niko Sokol’s life, engineering, and career.
