Description
This rare Chippendale dash Silver Shadow was supplied new to the King of Bhutan. The initial order was placed March 1966, with a scheduled delivery for June 1967. Due to a few amendments to the initial specification, chassis SRH-3945 wasn't delivered until April 1968. Optional extras requested by the Palace were - Sundym glass throughout, full refrigeration, flagmast mountings on the radiator shell, colonial air filter, colonial suspension (slightly stiffer) and an 'isolated territories' spares kit. Supplied with the car is an original Royal Houshold book which records journeys the car took whilst at the palace. The driver of the car that day would record the time of departure, how many miles covered, destination, and time returned to the palace. Most interestingly the log records the passengers carried. The Bangladeshi Ambassador, Prime Minister of Malaysia, Vice President of the World Bank, Indian Foreign Minister, and of course His Excellency, were regular passengers. According to the history file, the car remained in use at Dechencholing Palace in Thimpu until December 1990 when it was then shipped and registered in the UK. It passed into the hands of a private owner for three years, who then sold it to the headmaster of Hurtwood School in Holmbury St Mary, Surrey. It lived at Hurtwood School until December 2012 where it passed onto a new owner just five minutes away from the school. The last owner kept the car for twelve years until we acquired it very recently. Having owned several Silver Shadows over the years, these early Chippendale dash cars are by far my favourite. They still retain the exceptional high quality feel of the sixties Rolls Royce's before the seventies cost cutting started to filter into Shadow production. Definitely one for the purist with a much classier look both to the interior and exterior. Recent works include- Brake service, engine service, new tyres, spark plugs/ leads and grease points replenished. Viewing can also be arranged in Dunsfold, Surrey.
