Lot 121: 1965 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud 3

To many connoisseurs the Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars of the Fifties and early Sixties were the last cars displaying the traditional craftsmanship for which Rolls-Royce had become world-famous. Their separate chassis allowed an uncommon elegance of coachwork design, either by the Crewe factory itself or by independent coachbuilders such as H J Mulliner, Park Ward and James Young; the unitary construction of body and chassis of all subsequent models all but ended such a traditional association.The Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud and Bentley S series, announced in April 1955, employed such a chassis, to which was mounted Standard Steel coachwork. Incorporating coil spring/wishbone front suspension with semi-elliptic rear springs and a single radius arm to locate the live rear axle, it also featured centralised lubrication and all round drum brakes.Power was provided by the 4,887cc straight six engine of the Bentley R Type Continental producing an estimated 158bhp; notably for the first time Rolls-Royce and Bentley models shared the same state of tune which, via the four-speed automatic transmission, allowed a top speed of 100mph. The evolution Silver Cloud II and S2 models of 1959 used Rolls' new light alloy V8 engine but otherwise differed from their predecessors only in having a long life chassis lubrication system, standard power steering, increased front braking effort, a reduction in rear roll stiffness, a new ventilation system and a revised facia. With a capacity of 6,230cc the V8 was also notably lighter and produced around 200bhp. For the Silver Cloud III/S3 models introduced in October 1962, quickly distinguishable by four headlamps, the specification remained unchanged bar another increase of around 20bhp which lifted top speed to 115mph. This immaculate Silver Cloud from 1965 finished in shell grey with a maroon interior comes with an MoT until June 2006 and is supplied with road tax and the UK V5 logbook. The vendor informs us that the car is in first class order and that it has had just one former owner, a doctor, from new. A fine and majestic Rolls Royce it will continue to give first class motoring to its next fortunate owner.