7,428cc L-Head Inline 6-Cylinder Engine
50 bhp at 1,500 rpm
3-Speed Manual Transmission
4-Wheel Leaf Spring Suspension
Rear Drum Brakes

*One of the finest pre-1910 Silver Ghosts to survive
*Simple six ownership history from new
*Formerly owned by prominent collectors D. Cameron Peck and Atwater Kent
*Archetypal example of the early Barker bodied formal 'Ghost'

THE ROLLS-ROYCE 40/50HP SILVER GHOST

For anyone not familiar with the model, the Silver Ghost towers above many of its contemporaries in that it was entirely over-engineered and built to last forever. Rolls-Royce masterfully marketed the car as well and successfully established countless buyers causing it to last in production for nearly 20 years.

Henry Royce's fastidious attention to detail ensured that where a certain level of build quality was necessary for a car to work, he would make it far beyond this requirement. One only needs to gaze at the engine or rear axle, each held together with so great a number of bolts that it seems possible that they were intended never to come apart. Indeed, on a few surviving examples they never have! Where one ignition system was enough for some cars, naturally the Rolls had magneto and coil. Throughout the car a 'belt and braces' approach was taken.

Better still as with all the best machinery, the most important element – the motor – is a work of art in itself. The blend of aluminum crankcase, copper and brass piping, brass and aluminum castings and intricate control tubes create such a work of beauty, that even when some cars were scrapped this aspect was preserved and restored. Some adorn collections today in this form. A well rebuilt motor will often start simply on the firing of the spark from the coil to one of the liter capacity cylinders, without the engine having ever been turned over. It is little wonder that they were so appreciated by their chauffeurs! Similarly, they were coveted by their owners, who frequently named them as one might a yacht. The silence of the company's silver painted trials car earned the 40/50hp model its 'Ghost' title.

Where other manufacturers with products of similar quality faltered, thanks to the marketing genius of Claude Johnson the model sold well. A move to campaign Rolls-Royce motor cars in reliability events such as the 1907 Scottish Trial, which they won, and in doing so brought huge focus to the brand, and with such demand, production was scaled accordingly. From then onwards, production grew dramatically. Deliveries were quickly dispatched to regions far and wide and the reputation was now justly sealed as the Best Car in the World. This continued with wins in the Alpine Trials of 1913 and 1914. With the intervention of the war, production was geared to that effort, but even when it ended, the model continued in production for another six years.

Were it not for the First World War, it would perhaps be a more regular occurrence to find a Silver Ghost from this era of manufacture that still retained the coachwork it had been delivered with. However, so many were repurposed or destroyed in that time, that they are exceptionally rare.

The Rolls-Royce brand was undeniably founded on the quality, refinement and resilience of the Silver Ghost. Similarly, Barker were always in the front line when it came to coachwork.

THE MOTORCAR OFFERED

In his work The Silver Ghost, A Supernatural Car, Jonathan Harley lists a mere 21 survivors of the 'single digit' years of Silver Ghost Production, of which very few retain their original coachwork. In all of these respects, this remarkable Silver Ghost, chassis 1120, is a perfect snapshot of the early production cars and is supplied with semi-formal Open Drive Landaulette coachwork by none other than Barker themselves. It is the third oldest Silver Ghost to retain its original body.

The car is not only rare by the age of its series in production, but it has long been regarded as one of the most original to survive from this period. That the car comes to remain in its remarkable state of originality and authenticity is for the most part owing to the fact that while both sets of hostilities occurred in Europe, the Ghost was safely stationed on this side of the Atlantic due to its original delivery status.

Those details are as follows: On test in July 1909, it was ordered new by Mrs. Cawthra Elliot of Toronto, Canada. A glance through the factory records listed in the Fasal & Goodman work The Edwardian Roll-Royce suggests that it would have been only the second Silver Ghost to have arrived in Canada, with the only car prior to this being no longer extant. It makes this example offered here the oldest Canadian delivered car still in existence.

Mrs Cawthra Elliot retained the Silver Ghost long after its likely service. It is known to have received paintwork in the 1920s when it was repainted from blue to green. At some point, its suspension was improved with Westinghouse pillar shock absorbers but was otherwise unmolested.

In the late 1930s, the pioneering car collector D. Cameron Peck of Chicago discovered it still with the Cawthra Elliott family and acquired it for his burgeoning collection. He would retain the car for the next dozen or so years until 1952, when he parted with this and a number of his other cars owing to a health scare. At this point, it was sold to Atwater Kent. Mr. Kent retained the Ghost for a handful of years before selling it to the Pennsylvania State Museum, where it resided alongside a number of other early motorcars for the next 40 years.

This group of cars were sold at a Pebble Beach Auction in 1996, 1120 being hammered to arch Rolls-Royce collector Millard Newman. Later that year, he parted with it to the current owner, joining a significant collection of the marque.

Over the course of the last 25 years, this regal Silver Ghost has been cherished in a more active and sympathetic manner than its mostly displayed times. A careful replacement of the long dried out Landaulette top was made and the interior leather work fed to restore its life and return its usability. The anachronism of the shock absorbers has been corrected also. With these modest details attended to, 1120 matches the pair of period images of the car that exist, most likely showing its departure from Barker in 1909.

After a hiatus of 25 years, this magnificent and extremely important Rolls-Royce returns to North America for sale. By merit of its originality and specification it represents an unrepeatable opportunity which should not be missed.