Lot details
Registration No: XH 6538
Chassis No: 18NE
Mot Expiry: T.B.A.

The model upon which Rolls-Royce's reputation as makers of 'The Best Car in the World' was founded, the 40/50hp debuted at the November 1906 London Motor Show. A somewhat conventional yet beautifully executed design, the newcomer was based around a massive ladder-frame chassis equipped with all-round leaf-sprung suspension, powerful rear wheel brakes and spiral-bevel final drive. Displacing 7036cc (7428cc from 1910), its superlatively smooth six-cylinder engine featured a seven-bearing crankshaft, full pressure lubrication and twelve sparkplugs (fed via a dual magneto / coil ignition system). Allied to four-speed manual transmission (though, a three-speed gearbox was utilised from 1909 to 1913), the sidevalve unit proved both wonderfully torquey and eerily quiet. With a shrewd eye for publicity, Managing Director Claude Johnson had the company demonstrator 'AX 201' (the first 40/50hp to be known as a Silver Ghost on account of its striking livery and silver-plated fittings) take part in both the 1907 Scottish Reliability Trial and a RAC scrutinised 15,000 mile endurance run immediately afterwards. Made to journey between London and Glasgow no less than twenty-seven times as part of the latter ordeal, a thorough post-event examination revealed that the car had suffered no appreciable wear to its engine, gearbox, rear axle or brakes. Indeed, the only parts that factory mechanics felt compelled to change were: a steering rod tie pin, steering lever ball tip, magneto driving joint, fan belt, petrol strainer and two front wheel pivot pins. Though, as the RAC report on the World Record breaking run stated: "Had the car been in the hands of a private owner no replacements would have been considered necessary". Possessing a legendary eye for detail, Henry Royce continued to develop the 40/50hp throughout its eighteen-year production life. Thus, late Silver Ghosts boasted considerably more horsepower (up from 48bhp @ 1,250rpm to 80bhp @ 2,250rpm) and higher top speeds (some lightweight bodied cars were timed at over 80mph) than their earlier brethren. Optional from late 1923 onwards, servo-assisted four-wheel drum brakes became standard the following year.

According to a letter on file from Rolls-Royce dated March 22nd 1966, chassis '18NE' began life as a Barker bodied Landaulette. A standard wheelbase car, its first keeper was Sir Edgar Bowring KCMG. The then High Commissioner of Newfoundland as well as a respected businessman and philanthropist, Bowring appears to have kept the Rolls-Royce until at least 1929 (by which time his address had changed from the Hyde Park Hotel to 52 Leadenhall St, London EC2). Surviving World War Two, the car later saw service as a Creedy breakdown truck with F.G. Wade-Palmer's Jack O'Lantern garage near Romsey, Hampshire. One of several Silver Ghosts acquired prior to the filming of David Lean's epic Lawrence of Arabia (1962), '18NE' never made the set. Though, Rick Ford's book 'Rolls-Royce Silver Ghosts Lawrence of Arabia' recalls how it undertook a memorable nocturnal drive through Basingstoke with the silencer engaged. Reputedly donated by a contemporaneous Sunbeam, the 40/50hp is thought to have acquired its present Maythorn & Son four-door tourer coachwork during the mid 1960s. Stabled by Suffolk resident Donald Steed between 1966 and 1985, the Rolls-Royce enjoyed a brief sojourn in Florida before entering the current family ownership some seventeen years ago. Since submitted for MOT testing on an annual basis, it has also benefited from a brake overhaul (fresh linings), rewiring and new wheels / tyres. Riding as a passenger on a recent test drive, '18NE' was observed to start easily, maintain good oil pressure and quickly settle into a lolloping gait. Finished in red over black with maroon upholstery, it possesses a delightful patina. First road registered as 'AK 4', the current 'XH 6538' number plate was issued by the London authorities. Sporting a side-mounted spare wheel, rear luggage trunk, double-duck hood, wooden dashboard and nickel fittings, this enchanting Silver Ghost is offered for sale with MOT certificate valid until August 2008 (and may well be driven to the sale).