Lot 01: Rolls-Royce 20/25hp Sports saloon

The introduction of a smaller Rolls-Royce, the 20hp, in 1922 enabled the company to cater for the increasingly important owner-driver market that appreciated the quality of Rolls-Royce engineering but did not need a car as large as a 40/50hp Ghost or Phantom. The 'Twenty' proved eminently suited to town use, yet could cope admirably with Continental touring when called upon. Its successor, the 20/25hp, introduced in 1929, up-dated the concept with significant improvements, featuring an enlarged (from 3.1 to 3.7 litres) and more-powerful version of the Twenty's six-cylinder overhead-valve engine. Produced contemporaneously with the Phantom II, the 20/25 benefited from many of the features, such as synchromesh gears and centralised chassis lubrication, developed for the larger model, and would become the best-selling Rolls-Royce of the inter-war period. The Rolls-Royce 20/25hp was, of course, an exclusively coachbuilt automobile and most of the great British coachbuilding firms offered designs, many of them unique, on the 20/25hp chassis. The car presented here wears stylish sports saloon coachwork by the Coventry firm of Charlesworth, a company perhaps best known for its contract work for various of manufacturers, most notably Alvis, as well as bespoke designs such as this one, which is featured in Lawrence Dalton's book Those Elegant Rolls-Royce (page 379). Chassis number 'GMD51' was sold new on 14th May 1934 via agents Imperial Motor Mart, of Royal Crescent, Cheltenham to a Mr H Lester Esq, of Banbury, Oxfordshire. The car was imported into New Zealand in 1972 by the present owner from Adams & Oliver Ltd in England. Kept garaged for the whole of its time in NZ (except when being driven, of course) the car has been extensively restored over the years. Around 20 years ago the engine was fitted with a new cylinder head, which had been cast in aluminium alloy by Colin Lyster, a specialist engineer in Nelson, NZ. A stainless steel exhaust system has been installed, the wiring renewed, the brakes relined, the headlining replaced and the interior woodwork restored, while flashing indicators have been fitted in addition to the original semaphore system. The car is finished in black with walnut side panels, with front seats upholstered in beige leather and the rear in Bedford Cord. A most elegant 20/25hp sports saloon bodied by one of Britain's foremost coachbuilders, 'GMD51' is offered with owner's handbook, various service instruction leaflets and copy factory build sheets