Description
H&H Classic Auction @ The Imperial War Museum, Duxford/ Cambridgeshire
9th October, 2024 13:00
1922 Rolls-Royce Springfield 40/ 50hp Silver Ghost
A wonderful running and driving 'blank canvas'
Estimate
£60, 000 - £80, 000
Registration No: WC 1273
Chassis No: 126 BG
MOT: Exempt
Self-evidently the subject of an extensive past restoration
Hailed by the vendor as the fastest Silver Ghost he has ever driven (whilst still bodied)
A fantastic 'blank canvas' for its next owner
Worthy of close inspection if only to see the workmanship that helped garner Rolls-Royce its reputation for making 'the best car in the world'
Rolls-Royce of America Inc was established to bypass the swingeing import duty that had hitherto restricted its parent company's transatlantic sales. Operating from factory premises in Springfield, Massachusetts, the new concern initially built carbon copies of the famous 40/ 50hp model. However, as time progressed so its product became more attuned to the US market. The beautifully wrought ladder frame chassis and enviably smooth 7428cc straight-six engine were little altered but later cars featured a three-speed, centre gearchange manual transmission and left-hand drive (interestingly just 600 or so of the 1, 703 Springfield Silver Ghosts completed were to LHD specification). Designed to woo existing Packard, Cadillac and Pierce Arrow customers who had little truck with the idea of a chassis only purchase, a catalogued range of Rolls-Royce Custom Coachwork was soon made available. The various designs were given British names and subcontracted to the likes of Amesbury, Biddle & Smart, Holbrook, Locke, Merrimac, New Haven, Smith-Springfield and Willoughby.
More information to follow
