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Originally owned by the Earl of Strafford, the car was only recently relinquished by his family, having been kept at the family seat of Wrotham Park in Hertfordshire. With the car is a post war petrol requisition slip giving travel to The House of Lords as the reason for requisition & "Peer of the realm" as owners occupation!!!
A letter from Strafford's descendants states that the car was laid up during the war for economy reasons & instead the peer traveled to the House of Lords in a black economical Ford. It is related that economy did not go so far as to dispense with the services of the family chauffeur!! After the war Strafford saw no reason to continue economizing so the Rolls was immediately put back into service, with the continued services of the chauffeur as Strafford apparently could not drive!!!
ALF is a low mileage car in incredibly original condition. The original black leather is to the front & original cloth to the rear. The rear seats have been well preserved due to the fitment of seat covers we think in the '50's which have taken the brunt of any wear & preserved the underneath. Likewise the woodwork is in good order as are the over rugs & carpets. All original fittings remain including a telephony device for communicating somewhat faintly with the chauffeur. The headlining is also excellent & pleasingly still retains the occasional cargo nets to the roof.
The body is of course from Hoopers, the "King of coach builders" as they were affectionately known. It is in wonderful condition, unmolested by the passage of time, or criminally overenthusiastic restorers. The car is in its original Hooper colours of Hooper Prussian Blue over Black. The doors have absolutely perfect fit with no drooping, sagging or warping whatsoever. Indeed on opening & closing them, one can imagine how it was to open them when new!!!
Under the bonnet the originality continues with the exception of a modern coil replacing the old mushroom bakelite unit. The car is off the button, starting readily & settling down to the kind of silent tickover for which Rolls Royce is justly famous. The car also starts well "off the switch" when warm' attesting to the excellent compression. (ie simply putting on the ignition when the engine is stopped & retarding the ignition creates a spark & the engine wafts into life as if by magic with no recourse to the starter motor.) The car was always chauffeur maintained per the Rolls Royce maintenance manual in its early years. It will be sold with a full service done by Marque specialists Hofmann's of Henley & a fresh year's MOT.
On the road the car is a revelation. The steering is tight & precise with none of the wandering motion associated with tired king pins. The gear box is equally precise & a joy to use. The car pulls strongly and evenly from walking pace in top gear & readily accelerates in uncanny silence. The one shot system is in perfect working order as evidenced by fresh oil showing up all the way to the rear on the back spring shackles.
This represents an opportunity to purchase a perfect original car in unmolested condition, ready for extended use with no worries & none of the headaches & expenditure associated with a more tired example.
The car comes with assorted papers including the original buff log book & a Country Life article on Wrotham Park. If you wish to see a video of the car, may I recommend a viewing of the film: "Gosford Park" where the car is prominently featured
Packing, shipping, air freight economically priced and arranged to your door.
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£ 44,800
Euro 53,312
$ 69,440
Yen 5,376,000
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