Eric Minoff
Vice President, Head of Department - US
LOT 100
1960 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II Long Wheelbase Saloon with Division Chassis no. LLCA65
Sold for US$28,000 inc. premiumLot to be sold without reserve
Lot 100
1960 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II Long Wheelbase Saloon with Division
1960 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II Long Wheelbase Saloon with Division
Chassis no. LLCA65
Chassis no. LLCA65
6,223cc OHV V8 Engine
Twin SU Carburetors
185bhp
4-Speed Automatic Transmission
Independent Front and Semi-Elliptical Leaf Spring Rear Suspension
4-Wheel Hydraulic Drum Brakes
*Original U.S. delivery, in left-hand drive
*One of only 258 long-wheelbase Silver Cloud IIs produced.
*Documented by copies of its build records
*A highly original example with many period finishes
THE SILVER CLOUD II
Catering for the stately limousine market in the 1950s, Rolls-Royce offered the royalty and heads of state-only Phantom IV and the generally available, if somewhat dated, Silver Wraith. Following the introduction of the Silver Cloud, a long-wheelbase version of this more modern design was made available, with bodies closely based on the factory's standard offering. Four inches (100mm) longer in the wheelbase than the standard saloon and usually fitted out with an internal division, these bodyshells were extended by Rolls-Royce's in-house coachbuilder Park Ward (soon to become H J Mulliner, Park Ward) at its London works and finished off at Crewe. These long-wheelbase versions of the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud and Bentley 'S' Series continued after the introduction of the new 6,230cc aluminum-alloy V8 engine on the 'Cloud II/S2 in the autumn of 1959, offering a less expensive alternative to the newly introduced Phantom V. Only 258 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II and 51 Bentley S2 long-wheelbase saloons were made before the introduction of the Silver Cloud III.
THE CAR OFFERED
This rare, long-wheelbase version of the Silver Cloud II was ordered new by Mrs. M. W. Runnells, through Rolls-Royce's American distributor J.S. Inskip, and delivered to her in Chicago, Illinois in May 1960. Her tony address was 919 N. Michigan Avenue, then, as now, known as The Palmolive Building, but from the mid-1960s through to the late 1980s, it was better known as the Playboy Building, where Hugh Heffner's publishing business was based, and perhaps was stationed alongside Heffner's Mercedes 300SL Roadster on occasions.
Based on its build, Mrs. Runnells must have been chauffeur driven, for her car was tailored for her specific requirements, being ordered with a partition to separate the front and rear compartments. Those were upholstered in green hide and green broadcloth respectively, with green carpets all around, and a green headliner. Cossetted within the cabin of the car the driver and passengers benefitted from the luxuries of electric windows including the glass partition and Texas full refrigeration. Its exterior wore Valspar Smoke Green paint and Mrs. Runnells initials were inscribed on each of the front doors. To view the car today, it seems that it must have looked very much as it does now when new, and appears to be a highly original example. Certainly, the majority of the interior fabric and wood trim seem that they are original to the car, and while it is clear that there has been some attention to the paintwork, it also has the look of having never been refurbished in places too.
The Rolls-Royce Owners Club charts later owners after Mrs. Runnells as George Huguely of Washington in June 1967 and Leonard Horwich in 1972. A sticker on the bumper allows for admission to the Department of Defense in 1979, but it is not known who it was allowing when that was attached. Believed to have been acquired by the current owner a bit over a decade ago, it has been on static display ever since and is not presently running, so mechanical recommissioning is recommended before active touring.
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