Sold for £18,000
(including buyers premium)
Registration No: JR 1662
Chassis No: GLB 5
MOT: Exempt
Rolls-Royce introduced the 20/25 in 1929 as a successor to the outgoing 20. Though the newcomer was primarily aimed at owner drivers, many examples were nevertheless sold to customers with chauffeurs. Power came from an enlarged version of the straight-six unit used in the 20. Now of 3,699cc, it made for swifter acceleration and a higher top speed of up to 75mph. Bodywork for the 20/25, was to the taste of each individual customer, and Freestone & Webb, Gurney Nutting, Park Ward, Thrupp & Maberly, Mulliner and Hooper were among the many coachbuilders selected to clothe these fine motor cars. Nearly 4,000 20/25 chassis were ultimately produced, making it the company’s best-selling model between the wars.
Chassis GLB 5 was delivered to coachbuilders Mulliners Ltd of Birmingham on the 28th February 1934 and is believed to be one of only two bodied to the six-light, Limousine style. By the 9th March 1934, Sir Joseph Reed of Seaton Burn, Northumberland took delivery with few details until a record of ownership by British Paints in 1947. In 1949, the Rolls Royce would be purchased by Sir Robert Chapman, Lieutenant of County Durham (Mary, daughter of George V was a passenger in 1953). In 1962, Sir Robert sold the car to his former window cleaner and founder of a construction empire, William (Billy) Leech. By 1977, Billy passed the car to his grandson before it was purchased by the grandson of Sir Robert Chapman in 1983. The car passed to McKenna funerals for a short time before a gentleman in Norfolk purchased the car in 1986. He would have the 20/25 repainted and retrimmed before being sold to long-term owner Mr G Inman, who would own the car from 1990-2020. The current registered keeper bought the 20/25 in 2020 before our vendor purchased it earlier this year, recommissioning it and detailing the car extensively. The vendor states that the car's paintwork and bodywork is in 'very fine' order and that mechanically, the Rolls-Royce is said to be ‘running’ and in 'good order'.
For more information, please contact:
Lucas Gomersall
lucas.gomersall@handh.co.uk
07484 082430
Auction: Imperial War Museum | Duxford, Cambridgeshire, 9th Oct, 2024
An auction of classic, collector and performance motorcars to be held at the iconic and visually stunning Imperial War Museum, Duxford. Venue Details
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