1966 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III 'Flying Spur' Sports Saloon

Lot details
Registration No: HKT 27D
Chassis No: CSC69C

- The penultimate example of just thirty-five RHD chassis bodied by H.J. Mulliner Park Ward to its revered 'Flying Spur' Design Number 2042

- The price of four Jaguar E-Type 4.2 Coupes when new or a Ferrari 330GT 2+2 plus three Minis!

- Offered from a private collection and the subject of much recent restoration work

This simply stunning 'Flying Spur' was supplied new by H A Fox and first registered in January 1966 to The Rt Hon R Nivison of Haslemere, Surrey, bearing the registration 'JLB 749D'. Approximately three years later title passed to a Mr R A Duck of Teddington and then Mr John Elliott before being purchased by Mr Wensley Haydon-Baillie. At one stage Haydon-Baillie appeared in the top 50 of the Sunday Times Rich List, had a company specialising in Spitfire restoration, a collection of Rolls-Royces and Bentleys, and was said to dwell in one of Europe's largest residences, boasting some 365 rooms. By 1995 the Rolls was in the hands of Mr Jozcef Palcso before being acquired by Andras Boras and then the vendor, who has carried out a sympathetic refurbishment over the last few years. Speculation the car was at one time the property of The Who's Roger Daltry remains unconfirmed. This splendid home market motorcar (nowadays registered 'HKT 27D') features unmarked Regal Red coachwork teamed with a Cream hide interior and Red carpets. The vendor presently regards the coachwork, paintwork, upholstery, V8 engine and automatic transmission as all being in 'excellent' order, and is offering this splendid and rare 92,000 mile Silver Cloud complete with factory build sheet, full original tool kit and sundry invoices.

Rolls-Royce launched the Silver Cloud in April 1955 and it was the company's core model range for the next 11 years. It was based on a completely new, closed box-section frame that was reputedly 50% stiffer than that of the outgoing Silver Dawn. The distinguished-looking standard body was penned by in-house designer John Polwhele Blatchley. Its cleverly crafted proportions belied the considerable overall length of 17ft 8in and the design clothed all but 157 of the 2,360 Cloud Is eventually produced. The newcomer was powered by an alloy-headed, straight-six engine of 4887cc that delivered some 155bhp at 4,000 rpm. This was mated to a four-speed automatic transmission. Braking was by servo-assisted 11 inch drums all round. The suspension was independent with coil springs at the front and featured a live axle hung on semi-elliptic leaf springs at the rear.

The Silver Cloud II unveiled in 1959 brought a redesigned ventilation system and standardised power steering. The biggest change, however, was the replacement of the six-cylinder engine with an all-alloy 6.2-litre V8 unit. The unquoted output was sufficient to whisk the model to 60mph in under 11 seconds and on to a top speed of 112mph. The final iteration of the Cloud family, the Silver Cloud III, brought the option of rakish Drop Head and Fixed Head Coupes in addition to the standard and coachbuilt-bodied Limousines. The exterior dimensions were subtly altered, the interior remodelled and the weight reduced by some 220 lbs. Engine improvements included replacing the 1.75 inch SU carburettors with 2.0 inch ones and raising the compression ratio to 9:1 in recognition of the improving quality of fuel. The resulting extra performance was reflected in Motor magazine's 1964 test, which returned a time of just 10.1 seconds for the 0-60mph dash and a mean top speed of 114.3mph. The obvious visual change was the adoption of four headlamps. Less noticeable were the slightly increased slope of the bonnet and the shorter (by 1.5 inches) radiator grille. By the time the last chassis had been built, a total of 2,809 Cloud IIIs had entered the automotive world, but only 54 of those carried the distinctive so-called 'Flying Spur' bodywork; more officially known as Mulliner Park Ward design No.2042.