Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Piccadilly Roadster, 1925
Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost
Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost•
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Chassis No.: S169MK
Engine No.: 20694
Body No.: M1665
US$291,000 USD | Sold
- 452ci L-Head Inline 6-Cylinder Engine
- Single Rolls-Royce Carburetor
- 85bhp at 2,300rpm
- 3-Speed Manual Transmission
- Front and Rear Leaf Spring Suspension
- 4-Wheel Drum Brakes
- Owned by a series of prominent collectors of the marque and model
- Fitted in period with the present bodywork
- One of the most sporting Silver Ghost designs
The Silver Ghost had already earned for Rolls-Royce the accolade, The Best Car in the World, and the Springfield cars certainly maintained that reputation for the company.
THE MOTORCAR OFFERED
S169MK was one of a number of Rolls-Royce that were delivered to those within the local New England state in which they were produced. Factory records still survive to this day which enables transparency in the early histories of them and they confirm that its original owner hailed from Southbridge, Massachusetts, just 40 miles from the works. He was Albert B. Wells, President of the American Optical Company, a business that survives to this day and had done particularly well through the first world war in furnishing the war effort, a staggering 2,500,000 glasses being supplied to the US Government in that period.
Mr. Wells originally specified a formal Pickwick Limousine body produced by Rolls-Royce Custom Coachworks, and actually constructed by Biddle & Smart. He would retain the car until 1933, when it passed briefly to J. Work and then through the esteemed coachbuilders and Rolls-Royce agency of Brewster and Company in New York. As proven from the original records for the Springfield Rolls-Royce motorcars, it was a common occurrence for cars to have their bodies upgraded or exchanged between cars for a variety of reasons from changing tastes of owners or fashion dictating different styles.
All the while for many Rolls-Royce clients the refined engineering component continued to serve admirably, but no doubt if you owned one, keeping up with modern trends in bodywork design would have been important. Formal coachwork tended to date more quickly so it was often the case that a more sporty body, even if it were a little older might be transferred to a chassis to make it more fashionable and therefore also more saleable. No one knew this better than Brewster, and it is thought that it would have been at their premises that shelled its upright Pickwick bodywork for the lighter, sportier Piccadilly Roadster which had formerly adorned a Phantom 1, S160PM.
It is believed that it would have gained the contemporary fenders and lights at that same time and still wears that same guise to this day. Brewster's managing partner J.S. Inskip sold the car to Captain A.W. Stone.
A succession of known Rolls-Royce aficionados would follow as the car crossed from East to West, the first being Fred Buess, Jr. of Glendale, California in 1951, eight years later it became the property of John Spring of Los Angeles. In 1963 it joined the collection of noted Silver Ghost owner and the Founding Chairman of the world renowned Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, Alton Walker. In this period, Walker would win the concours that he had helped establish with another, earlier Silver Ghost.
Gene Littler of La Jolla was the owner by 1969 and four years further on it has passed to John B. Zyrlo of Los Angeles. A year later, the car was acquired by noted AACA Member Sam Flohr of Colorado for his wife, Ruth Marie, with whom it would remain for the next two decades. Since then, just one further custodian possessed the 'Ghost before it arrived in the antepenultimate ownership in 2007. The penultimate owner acquired it from Bonhams in 2014 and it joined the present ownership a few year later.
Earlier in the car's life, it was established that the car's original engine had also been exchanged at some point. This inconsistency was addressed by the antepenultimate owner when the correct motor found, and its repatriation was entrusted to pre-war Rolls-Royce and Silver Ghost specialist Steve Littin of Ohio in 2014. Toured and enjoyed in the current ownership, where it has been maintained in house, In the last several months, the Rolls has undergone cosmetic restoration including refurbishment of some of the chrome and repainting of the front cowl and rear section of the bodywork including the rumble seat and surrounding area.
One of the best known and elegant coachwork designs, a Piccadilly Roadster is frequently chosen for its versatility and comfort as a good tour car, providing comfort for driver and passenger as well as the option to use the rumble seat compartment for storage.
With the benefit of a long-known history this is an affordable open entry to ownership of the legendary Silver Ghost model.
Стоимость
1 068 698 AED
