Vehicle Description
West Coast Classics are proud to present an exceptionally rare long
term owner example of this 1959 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud I 4.9L 6
cyl 4 door saloon, with only 2,238 of these hand built Cloud I cars
ever built and with only very few remaining! This particular
example is finished in its striking and believed to be original
'Masons Black' factory color paint with Tan Connolly hides which
have been recently reupholstered in a high quality leather and
which boasts its original Mohair headliner and wood dashboard.This
particular example had the optional power steering and electric
windows and factory air conditioning. The car also boasts its
original spare wheel and tire and electric inspection lamp and
charging plug, pressure gauge and tire pump! We acquired the car
from the estate of it's previous long time ownership from the
1960's and it will be sold with a thick file of service history and
records from it's previous ownership. The records show that at no
time was any expense spared on this particular car's preventive
maintenance and boy does it show! The car drives phenomenally well
and is a testament to how these extraordinary cars are capable of
driving, an absolute pleasure to drive with the ultimate in both
grace and power. The records show that the air conditioning was
converted and recently vacuumed and recharged with modern 134a
refrigerant, the front amp; rear exhaust manifolds replaced, all
heater and radiator hoses replaced, new engine drive belts, power
steering pump replaced, transmission service, one window regulator
motor replaced, etc etc.The car has been owned by most of it's life
by one single owner who obviously always garaged the car with the
car still believed to retain most of its original paint, its rare
original leather wrapped rear leaf springs and apart from the
recently reupholstered all new leather interior has a superb all
original patina with only very little signs of wear. The car
remains mostly original throughout including its original 'Smiths'
radio, African burled walnut wood, and the original weather
stripping and seals and rubbers etc are all in very good shape
throughout the car considering their age. An obviously always
cherished and garaged example with no accidents and with the floor
boards, trunk and all the typical rust-prone areas seemingly all
rust free!The car has a beautiful and highly desirable color
combination of seemingly mostly all original 'Masons Black'
exterior paint with matching Rolls Royce hubcaps and an all new
'Connolly' equivalent 'Beige' leather interior, which was
exclusively used in Rolls Royce's and Bentley's came from unfenced
cows which produced unblemished hides. All the chrome work
including the front Rolls Royce grille and bumpers is absolutely
outstanding apart from one small area on the drivers side rear
bumper (see photos below) which has begun to peel. The door panels,
dashboard and original mohair headliner remarkably show only very
minimal signs of any wear. The car has it's original spare wheel
with original jack and factory equipment still located in their
rightful place of storage in the trunk compartment.For those who
are unfamiliar, the Bentley 'S' series and the Rolls Royce Silver
Cloud series were absolutely identical, with both vehicles hand
built at the Rolls Royce factory in Crewe, England from 1955-66,
with the only differences being their nameplates, radiator and
mascots. The Silver Cloud models were introduced in 1955 with a
superbly crafted 'Rubenesque' body shell with the traditional Rolls
Royce imposing high grille and headlights whilst hinting at the
separate fenders seen on the previous coachbuilt models. The all
new body was steel with a simple very rigid steel box section
welded together with lightweight aluminum panels for the doors,
hood and trunk lid. Equipped with a now legendary inline six
cylinder engine, four speed automatic transmission, hydraulic
brakes with twin brake master cylinders and independent front
suspension, the car could reach 60mph in 13.5 seconds and had a top
speed of over 100mph. This 6 cylinder engine was ultimately
considered both smoother and possibly more durable than the later
V8 that followed it whilst being both quieter and easier to
maintain and today is recognized as a virtually bullet proof engine
built by the world's finest mechanical engineers. It remains the
quintessential Rolls Royce with enough power to be used on modern
roads with a degree of style that only this marque could offer.
Rolls Royce no longer exists as it had for over one hundred years -
this is one of the last in the original line of cars built in the
legendary Rolls Royce factory in Crewe, England with a quality and
craftsmanship that far surpasses that of today's mass produced
models with many BMW parts - this is a rare opportunity to own a
piece of automobile history, from a time when Rolls Royce was truly
building the world's finest motor cars. This increasingly desirable
and collectible Silver Cloud I, one of the most desired of the
Silver Clouds by enthusiasts with the virtually bullet proof all
aluminum 4.9L 6 cylinder engine and the single head lights - which
of note, Rolls Royce purists were appalled with at the time when
the later Silver Cloud III's transformation with the dubious
redesigned front-end lower hood and radiator with quad front
headlamps mounted in oval nacelles - considered a shocking
violation of RR tradition - one magazine went so far as to refer to
the quad lights as the equivalent to installing a jukebox in
Winchester cathedral!Along with it's tall grill and tall flying
lady the Silver Cloud I is an absolute moving work of art from a
time when Rolls-Royce and Bentley were arguably building the "Best
Cars in the World" at the time of it's production; the
craftsmanship and quality of these cars obviously speak for
themselves and it is becoming increasingly hard to find any
examples at all, let alone any such unabused and rust free examples
- with only some 2,238 Silver Cloud I's built and very few
remaining or available for sale you will surely look long and hard
to find another in such fine condition.So buy with confidence, with
Silver Cloud drophead coupe convertibles now selling in excess of
$500K, this will no doubt prove a fabulous investment for the
astute investor, Rolls Royce enthusiast or British Classic Car
Collector or simply a great example of a fully turn key ready
example mechanically to cosmetically restore fully or to simply
just enjoy and drive for the discerning luxury classic car owner!