Rolls-Royce Limousine.
Identifying post-vintage Rolls-Royces isn't something I have to do very often. I suspect this car, registered sometime after May 1934, is a 20/25 although I'd welcome confirmation on this. The registration AYV 489 suggests that it originally glided around the roads of London. A look on the DVLA site doesn't show any record of a R-R with this number attached to it, so perhaps it is no longer around (or maybe it has been exported?).
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The Rolls-Royce 20/25 was introduced in 1929 and continued in production until 1936 by which time some 3,827 chassis had been built. Compared to earlier R-R motorcars, and the contemporary Phantom II, the 20/25 was of (slightly) more modest proportions. The thinking behind this was that owner-drivers would find the model appealing, rather than just the well-healed buyer who let his/her chauffeur do the driving. Propulsion was courtesy of a 3.7 litre straight six engine, coupled to a four speed manual gearbox. The styling was very much in the traditional R-R way, with a handsome grille proudly supporting the Spirit of Ecstasy on her travels. The grille vanes were adjustable from within the car, enabling the driver to regulate the airflow to the car's radiator. On later 20/25s this would be replaced by an automated arrangement, where cooling airflow was controlled by a thermostat. Altogether more elegant than having an electric fan kicking in.
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AYV looks to me like a standard 20/25 Limousine. Many 20/25 chassis featured striking coachwork, sourced from one of the legion of coachbuilders that proliferated in the pre-war years, enabling the owner to have a motor-car built to his or her specific requirements.
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Robert contacted me, to confirm that this is indeed a 20/25 Limousine, with coachwork by Thrupp & Maberly. Its chassis number was GUB39, and its body number is recorded as 5835, supplied new to Colonel W. Reid Glover. This car was apparently scrapped in 1967.
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Return to Old Motoring Photos Page No. 9.
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Photographs of a pre-war Wraith can now be seen on this page at oldclassiccar, while the tattered chassis of a pre-war R-R, photographed in the 1950s most likely, can be seen here.
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