Penn falls under the sway of the world’s greatest passenger car marque despite his often denied Latin bias

I’m always more than a little in awe of this iconic marque’s products. I know that they’re not me — so incredibly imposing in every physical aspect, so much larger than life with that archaic radiator shell and the vertical louvres and so incredibly recognisable anywhere, anytime.

So why aren’t they me? Well it’s to do with that powerful presence they’re always thrusting at you, there’s nothing subtle about what is undoubtedly the world’s most recognisably prestigious motor car. Not that I’m subtle, dear me no! But I do like my cars to be sculptured curvaceously, implying hidden potential, and this isn’t Rolls-Royce style, and never has been. The world’s greatest passenger car never pretended to be anything but what it is — the world’s greatest passenger car, and recognisably so, instantly. Of course, why would the marque ever present itself in any other way? And this beautiful example is a prime example, but with one variation, it has an American-designed and built body mounted on the magnificently engineered British chassis.

Immense pains

It was bought nearly four years ago by Richard Hadfield, our featured car’s present owner, who took immense pains in a thoroughly executed restoration taking nearly two years, about 13,000km ago. Although the car was in very good order when he bought it from the Real Car Company in Wales, it was already a very old car with the all the usual hallmarks of attrition that time inevitably lays on even the best-kept cars. The paintwork was well past its best — and that was a repaint — the interior was showing the signs of wear that are inescapable for all furnishings. If you looked in the rear compartment of this car I believe that the word that would spring to mind would be furnishing rather than trimming, because it is, really, a small(ish) drawing room.

Apart from the sumptuous main seating, there is also a small occasional pull out seat — for a lady’s maid? — a beautifully built in and veneered liquor cabinet and six-inch deep carpeting, not to mention silken support ropes complete with Turks head ends, lashings of polished wood fillets and perfectly-fitting glass windows on four sides. All of which served to insulate the privileged occupying this luxurious suite from the world outside.

A young trimmer rapidly gaining a name for himself as a quality creator, Scott Wood, of Coatesville, meticulously recreated the original trim.

Chauffeur driven

The most unusual aspect of this particular car is obvious — it’s the body styling. Above the car’s rear sofa there is a landaulet-type folding roof. It’s not to be confused with a soft top, it’s much sturdier than that, and clicked into place from the inside — rather like a sports car’s hardtop. No wind noise, no drafts and no flapping material, it’s all beautifully designed and sturdily built to fold up, or down, with the precision expected of such a very superior car.

Not content with that body styling at the rear, over the driver’s compartment there is another removable roof section enabling those in front to enjoy a bit of wind in the hair motoring should the weather be balmy — so the front is clearly Sedanca de Ville.

No doubt it was originally designed to be chauffeur driven, but in these democratic days it is likely to be the owner enjoying the sensuous pleasures of open air motoring, God knows he’ll have paid enough to wish to enjoy it himself rather than the hired help getting the privilege.

It’s an unusual body styling for a Rolls-Royce, only known on this particular Brewster-built body. Several books on Rolls-Royce cars of the vintage and post vintage thoroughbred eras show this specific car. It’s been around for 75 years and will be around for another 75 years — and then some.

Brewster was a well-respected American coach-builder, and he designed this particular body for himself. It was a body styling more popular in the early ’20s and dying out by the ’30s, and that’s what makes it so unusual.
Brewster sold the car in 1948 when it went to a university professor called Bentley. Next it went to a Mrs Attee. Her father bought it for her and her husband. Mr Attee died sometime in the ’80s, but she kept he car for another 14 or so years until the Real Car Company dug it out and took it back to Wales (if you use Google you’ll soon find the Real Car Company in Wales, and there’s a long list of Rolls and Bentley cars featured and for sale.)

If you took away that unmistakeable radiator shell you have a very elegant body, with simple clean lines, and not at all overdone — compare it with many of the Packards and similar contemporary indigenous products of the USA, and by degree of comparison it’s actually very conservative, European and tasteful — let’s be judgemental here, many of the USA stylings were more than a bit ‘over the top’ everywhere except in their country of origin.

On the road

We drove around on a Sunday through Parnell, and the traffic wasn’t the serious stuff of a working day Auckland. The sun came out sporadically, and at intervals it would defer to a sprinkly shower, so I asked about the brakes and promptly got a minor whiplash as Richard demonstrated just how good they were. Servo-mechanical in the rear and servo only in the front and the car weighs probably close on a couple of tons, but even on the damp roads everything gripped like a teenager offered a $50 note.

Later, we were going down a small steep alley of about one in three and again Richard silenced my mewing (when my imagination gets over-active I suppress my squawks of fear) by showing the clamps in action at regular intervals as we descended — mark you, he might have been reassuring himself just as much as me, because you can just imagine how many Parnell houses this thing would go through once it had gathered a bit of speed on a steep slope.

But what impressed me was the perfection of every driving feature. The motor was everything you expect of a Rolls, smooth, silent, and in service tap and rattle free, torquey in acceleration, and once warmed up able to idle so quietly that you can hear the fan swishing! The four-speed crash ’box — on the driver’s side alongside the handbrake — appeared to present no problems to Richard, who changed gears with a felicity that showed his age. He knew all about double declutching and happily went up and down the ’box as needed.  As we progressed in stately style there wasn’t a clunk of any description. The car moves smoothly with a sophistication worthy of any modern, with the cart springs and beam axle easily controlled by the hydraulic shocks.

Richard currently lives in a lovely house with garaging beneath which poses a difficult right angle entry for his cars, including a steep access drive and a hard left lock then a mild right lock to back this very valuable and beautifully restored car into a specific corner in his garage. I got very twitchy.  As I’ve said, Rolls aren’t me, but I do recognise how very superior they really are, and this is a beautiful car by anybody’s standards.

Custom built cars evolve

Richard and his wife like long distance touring, so the Rolls’ rear-mounted spare was moved to the side and Richard had a period trunk made to take their usual suitcases. It is in the style of the vintage period and is another aspect of the on-going evolution of these sorts of cars. Those odd changes that have been made can be reversed any time any future owners wish to, Richard points out, but personally I believe  these custom-built vintage cars, at the level we’re talking of here, are legitimately modified in various ways by serious people during the time they are possessed by these sorts of cars. These treasures are international and governed by different rules to your everyday production line classics. Importantly we must bear in mind also that these sorts of cars aren’t subject to the normal market rules — they have a set of rules of their own.

Owning and rebuilding a vintage rollls

This sort of car is very valuable and is an international commodity — so all restoration work must be meticulous. This means a specialist wood framer, such as Len Woodgate (also an aircraft engineer), for rebuilding the coach-built body where required — and with old wood-framed bodies there will always be maintenance required, wood being the kind of material that will deteriorate unless specifically protected.

Similarly, motor rebuilds in these cars do require very specialist knowledge and very careful engineering, since that is the major reputation of the marque. When it was pulled down Richard found a very good condition motor, but nevertheless in order to retain the original and very sound pistons he had the block dry-sleeved back to standard, and specifically they checked the oilways in the crankshaft, because being a large oilway they are prone to gathering gunk as the shaft spins out centrifugally any solids in the oil, gradually closing the diameter. That’s why it’s a good idea to follow the common modern practice of fitting oil filters to all old timers — especially valuable ones.

Words and Photos, Penn McKay