Toby Wilson
Head of Department
LOT 205
The Stan West Collection 1954 Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn 4½-Litre Saloon Registration no. SMA 411 Chassis no. 50G96
Sold for £43,700 inc. premiumLot to be sold without reserve
Lot 205
The Stan West Collection 1954 Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn SaloonRegistration no. SMA 411
Goodwood Revival: Collectors' Motor Cars and Automobilia|18 September 2021, 13:00 BST|Chichester, Goodwood
The Stan West Collection
1954 Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn 4½-Litre Saloon
Registration no. SMA 411
Chassis no. 50G96
1954 Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn 4½-Litre Saloon
Registration no. SMA 411
Chassis no. 50G96
*Landmark Rolls-Royce model
*One of only 481 4½-litre 'long tail' cars
*Well documented
*Acquired for the Stan West Collection in 2005
*One of only 481 4½-litre 'long tail' cars
*Well documented
*Acquired for the Stan West Collection in 2005
Footnotes
The policy of rationalisation begun in the late 1930s continued at Rolls-Royce after WW2; more components were bought in rather than manufactured in house and for the first time there was factory bodywork, which was better suited to the owner driver than to a chauffeur. This 'standard steel' body was available at first only on the Mark VI Bentley, the equivalent Rolls-Royce - the Silver Dawn - not appearing until 1949. A separate chassis was retained, the same basic design being built in three different wheelbase lengths, while other notable features were independent front suspension and hydraulic front brakes.
The range featured a new 4,257cc six-cylinder engine (enlarged to 4,566cc in 1951) with inlet-over-exhaust valve gear. Rolls-Royce used belt drive for the water pump and dynamo for the first time on this engine, which employed a Zenith Stromberg carburettor in Rolls-Royce configuration. The latter was preferred to the Mark VI's twin SUs as it offered smoother running and a cold start facility, which was not available on the SU-equipped Bentley until 1952.
In mid-1952 a welcome improvement to the standard bodywork arrived in the shape of an enlarged boot together with associated changes to the rear wings and suspension. This design was introduced on the 'E' series Silver Dawn and was retained until the final 'J' series. The new model was almost identical to the Mark VI up to the rear doors; however the larger boot with its greater luggage capacity gave it arguably a more attractive and balanced profile. Only 760 Silver Dawns were built and this model is considered by many to be one of the most attractive 'standard steel' models from either Rolls-Royce or Bentley.
'SMA 411' was first registered to Rolls-Royce Ltd on 18th February 1954 before being retailed via Joseph Cockshoot Ltd, Manchester and sold to its first private owner, one V A B Hughes, Esq in March of that year. Copy build sheets on file show that the car was originally fished in Masons Black with beige hide interior, and that it left the factory equipped with the synchromesh gearbox and standard trafficators. The file also contains the original buff logbook and old registration documents tracing the car's ownership history. Stan West acquired the Rolls-Royce on 15th June 2005 and since then the car has been maintained by P&A Wood. The latter's bills are on file together with numerous old MoTs and other invoices dating back to 1961.
Saleroom notices
Please note the correct Chassis number is SDS0G96
Additional information
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