Vehicle Description
The introduction of a smaller Rolls-Royce, the 20hp, in 1922
enabled the company to cater for the increasingly important
owner-driver market that appreciated the quality of Rolls-Royce
engineering but did not need a car as large as a 40/50hp Ghost or
Phantom. The 'Twenty' proved eminently suited to town use yet could
cope admirably with Continental touring when called upon. Its
successor, the 20/25hp, introduced in 1929, up-dated the concept
with significant improvements, featuring an enlarged and
more-powerful version of the Twenty's six-cylinder overhead-valve
engine. Produced contemporaneously with the Phantom II, the 20/25
benefited from many of the features, such as synchromesh gears and
centralised chassis lubrication, developed for the larger model and
would become the best-selling Rolls-Royce of the inter-war period.
The Rolls-Royce 20/25hp was, of course, exclusively coach-built and
most of the great British coach-building firms offered designs,
many of them unique, on the 20/25hp chassis. This 1935 Rolls-Royce
Sports Saloon�was the subject of an eight page spread in
'Thoroughbred and Classic cars' in June 1982 when it had a nut and
bolt restoration. It comes with extensive provenance (including a
copy of the magazine as mentioned) which goes as far back as the
engine test results from the Rolls-Royce factory with repair bills
etc to date. The interior retains most of the original leather and
has picnic tables fitted in the rear of the front seats. Decanters
and glasses are fitted in the rear quarter panel and the boot has
an extensive tool kit fitted with most of its original tools. This
lovely example of the renowned James Young coachbuilders has a
matching numbers engine and gearbox. It is visually stunning and
represents what the British car manufacturer was all about, it
still commands a�wonderful presence on the roads today as it did
back in the 1930s. For sale by auction on Saturday 23 September
2017 with Historics at Brooklands, Brooklands Motor Racing Circuit,
Weybridge, Surrey, Call 01753 639170
