---
title: "James May Is Selling His Rolls-Royce Corniche Because It Makes Him Itchy"
description: "\"I've become allergic to it,\" May wrote in a blog post."
date: "2017-02-09"
modified: "2017-02-09"
authors:
  - name: "Aaron Brown"
    job_title: "Staff Editor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/aaron-brown"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/7494/james-may-is-selling-his-rolls-royce-corniche-because-it-makes-him-itchy"
categories:
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
  - "Rolls-Royce News"
tags:
  - "A-List"
  - "james may"
  - "luxury"
  - "Rolls-Royce"
  - "The Grand Tour"
  - "Top Gear"
---

# James May Is Selling His Rolls-Royce Corniche Because It Makes Him Itchy

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/02/screen-shot-2017-02-09-at-12-00-06-am.png>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

After ten years of ownership, *The* *Grand Tour* co-host and former *Top Gear* star James May is selling his beloved 1972 Rolls-Royce Corniche...because he's apparently allergic to it.

In a blog posted on his *Drive Tribe* page Wednesday, May explained that the car, bought during a 2008 episode of *Top Gear*, makes him uncomfortable after driving it for extended periods of time.

["I’ve become allergic to it,"](<https://drivetribe.com/p/SlG13VtTSOOMpTbIIBY75w/WccP7osETwOPM6Raeu_AoA>) May wrote. "And I mean this. If I drive it for more than half an hour I start itching, and then have to boil all my clothes."

May longed for a Corniche for nearly 20 years before he was able to scoop one up, *Daily Mail* reports. But now—[less than 10,000 miles later](<https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4204304/Ex-Gear-host-James-allergic-1972-Rolls-Royce.html>)—the time has apparently come to give it up.

## James May's Corniche will be put on the auction block next month

The car is being put up for sale at a Bonhams auction on March 19th in Goodwood, England. Similar Corniches are currently estimated to be valued around [$37,500, ](<https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4204304/Ex-Gear-host-James-allergic-1972-Rolls-Royce.html>)but most of those probably don't have quite the same history as this particularl example.

So if you want a car that James May has violently scratched himself in...here comes your chance.

## Author
Aaron was previously a contributing writer with Jalopnik and has also written for Business Insider covering cars. When he's not in the office writing the news, you'll probably find him thrashing a beater car around a RallyCross.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/aaronmaxb>)  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/aaronmaxb>)