1936 Rolls-Royce 25/30 Sedanca Coupe

Coachwork by J. Gurney Nutting & Co

4,257cc F-Head Inline 6-Cylinder Engine
Single Downdraft Carburetor
Approximately 90bhp
4-Speed Manual Transmission
Independent Front Suspension with Live Rear Axle
4-Wheel Drum Brakes

* Supremely elegant combination of Rolls and Gurney Nutting
* Illustrious provenance
* Offered with copies of factory records
* Older restoration with excellent potential

To view a YouTube walkaround of this lot please click here

Previewing at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California by appointment. Please contact [email protected] for scheduling.


THE ROLLS ROYCE 25/30

Produced between 1936 and 1938, the Rolls-Royce 25/30 was introduced as a replacement to the successful 20/25 released in 1929. The impetus for creating the 25/30 was largely a desire for increased power to motivate the cars when equipped with elegant - and heavy - custom coachwork. Along with other advancements including changes to the braking system, the 3,669cc inline-6 engine was bored out to 4,257cc, while stroke remained the same. This increased displacement gave the updated model enough of a power increase to satisfy the demands of their clientele before the introduction of the Wraith in 1938.

J. Gurney Nutting was founded a year after the end of the First World War and in the early Twenties they began to be commissioned to build coachwork for Rolls-Royce chassis, receiving acclaim for their outstanding Sedanca de Ville designs, which became the choice of the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII, the Duke of York, later King George VI, and the Duke of Kent, earning the company the Royal Warrant between 1931-35. With the advent of the merger and founding of Bentley Motors Ltd. 1931, such designs could also be found on the contemporary Bentley also in the 1930s.

Much of the reputation of the coachbuilder's success as a brand, can be attributed to the brilliant designer A.F. McNeil, who penned some of the most graceful lines on Rolls-Royce and Bentley chassis, and was renowned at home and overseas for Sedanca de Ville and Sedanca Coupé styles. In fact, that honor may be shared by John Blatchley, his understudy, who later continued in his mentor's footsteps when McNeil moved to the now Jack Barclay owned James Young concern in 1937.
Blatchley was noted particularly for his introduction of the 'Razor Edge' designs on coupes and sedans, something that in later life he would state his influence to have been the great French Carrossiers, nevertheless automobiles such as the car on offer today owe their modernity and style to his pen.

THE MOTORCAR OFFERED

GRM 7 is a perfect example of Blatchley's handiwork, and is understood to have been their design study number 266. According to copies of the factory records on file it was ordered on May Day, 1936 by H.R. Owen who sold the car to H.D. Chaplin of Fulmer in the Buckinghamshire region, to the Northwest of London. The completed rolling chassis was delivered to J, Gurney Nutting approximately 84 years ago on August 7th, 1936, for them to execute their craftsmanship, leading to Mr. Chaplin's delivery. At some point, it passed through another esteemed agency, being that of Vincents of Reading, for it still wears a dash plaque and door jamb plates for this company.
Unusually for these cars, its post-war history is arguably more interesting than before the hostilities, for it is understood that in the early 1950s the car migrated to the U.S. and for a while would become the property of Nelson Rockefeller, the former Vice President of the United States and Governor of New York, who was noted for his appreciation of Rolls-Royce and would no doubt have recognized the rarity and elegance of its coachwork.
Subsequent owners are recorded as C. Fred Brown of Arizona and Ohio, and later James and Donna Metheney of Ohio. At some point along the way it is evident that the car received a refurbishment and either then or prior, the Sedanca panel of the bodywork was sealed in the closed position, perhaps in more austere times. The car remains that way today. Its restoration has in former years been well lauded, garnering awards at the CCCA Ohio Region Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens Car Show, among others.
As viewed, its refurbishment has now aged somewhat and the paintwork, most likely being a lacquer finish has started to craze in places, and shows signs of age around the most used areas of openings and close proximity to the road. Despite this, its elegance shines out, from the graceful lines, to the opera lamps on the scuttle, and faux 'pram irons' which break the rear quarter panels, all are unmistakable Gurney Nutting cues.
Gurney Nutting's Sedanca Coupe on these cars represent one of the greatest collaborations of with a car manufacture, and the potential of this car cannot be overlooked, particularly when one adds its pedigree into the mix.