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COACHWORK BY KELLNER OF PARIS
细节
1928 ROLLS-ROYCE 20HP OPEN DRIVE BROUGHAM DE VILLE
COACHWORK BY KELLNER OF PARIS
Registration No. Not UK registered
Chassis No. GFN 30
Engine No. D6A
Blue with black leather driver's compartment, blue cloth to rear.
Engine: six cylinder in-line, pushrod overhead valve, 3127cc; Gearbox: manual four-speed with right-hand lever; Brakes: servo-assisted, mechanically operated four-wheel drum; Suspension: beam axle to front, live axle to rear, half elliptic springs all round. Right hand drive.
Rolls-Royce's enormous early success owed much to the acumen of Claude Johnson, whose commercial expertise was the perfect counterpoise to the engineering brilliance of Henry Royce. In 1906 Johnson decreed that in future the company would market one model only. That model was the fabled six-cylinder 40/50 hp Silver Ghost, so costly to purchase and time consuming to maintain that only the most wealthy could afford it. By the early 1920s, the times were changing. There was still a place for such extravagances, but a new luxury car-owning class could be discerned. They had the means to indulge themselves but looked for much more modest outgoings and running costs. It was to tap this new market that the Rolls-Royce Twenty was introduced in 1922. Built to just the same demanding standards as its magnificent predecessor, but simpler both to manufacture and to keep up, it was, after initial tremors, highly successful. Refinement more than high performance was always the Derby factory's objective with the six-cylinder Twenty. There was a smooth pushrod overhead six-cylinder engine in unit with a three-speed gearbox controlled by a centre gear-change, driving through an open propeller shaft to a rear axle suspended by simple half elliptic springs. By 1926 there were four speeds and the gears were controlled by a right hand lever in a more traditional gate. Brakes on all four wheels came in at about the same time. In common with the steering and clutch, they were light and precise to operate, for the type was intended to appeal to owner-driver clients as well as to those who could afford to employ a chauffeur.
Like many similar manufacturing busineses, La Carosserie Kellner was established in central Paris in the middle of the last century, but moved out to the industrial suburb of Billancourt along the banks of the Seine some thirty years later. As the French motor industry flourished, so did Kellner, specialising in coachwork on the greatest luxury marques. Their beautifully balanced four-seater torpedo tourers on Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost chassis were style leaders in their time, but it was for their brougham de ville town carriages that they received great acclaim at each year's Paris Salon. Kellner's broughams changed little through the 1920s. Their appeal was based on nostalgia for an even then long-past world of fine horse-drawn carriages and with gently curving surfaces and "razor edge" outlines, demanded the highest levels of craftsmanship. As may be seen on this example, it was a very specialised body style, intended entirely for town work, usually provided with neither luggage trunk nor grid. Indeed, this car's build records, made available for examination from the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts Club archive, specify a maximum load comprising up to four people, but no luggage.
This 20 hp chassis was despatched from the factory in December 1928 and travelled via Folkestone-Boulogne channel ferry and Automobiles Rolls-Royce Paris to Kellner. It journeyed on four "scrap test" wheels, for the original order asked for Hoffmann wooden artillery wheels to be supplied in Paris. The coachbuilders must have had a suitable body in stock, for the complete car was finally tested by Rolls-Royce Paris on 21st February 1929 before delivery to M.J. Groult, its first owner. The Paris service record is complete until 1935. Subsequently the Twenty travelled to the USA, where in the early 1970s it was owned by Mr. A. Scheinmam.
Points of interest include the well preserved, original elaborate button-pleated rear interior, the nickel finish to bright parts and the typically French dashboard, cellulosed to match the coachwork, a speaking tube from passenger to chauffeur.
A new owner will need to re-register the car before road use. At the time of writing Christie's have not had the opportunity to inspect or drive this vehicle, please contact the department for any additional information during the viewing period.
COACHWORK BY KELLNER OF PARIS
Registration No. Not UK registered
Chassis No. GFN 30
Engine No. D6A
Blue with black leather driver's compartment, blue cloth to rear.
Engine: six cylinder in-line, pushrod overhead valve, 3127cc; Gearbox: manual four-speed with right-hand lever; Brakes: servo-assisted, mechanically operated four-wheel drum; Suspension: beam axle to front, live axle to rear, half elliptic springs all round. Right hand drive.
Rolls-Royce's enormous early success owed much to the acumen of Claude Johnson, whose commercial expertise was the perfect counterpoise to the engineering brilliance of Henry Royce. In 1906 Johnson decreed that in future the company would market one model only. That model was the fabled six-cylinder 40/50 hp Silver Ghost, so costly to purchase and time consuming to maintain that only the most wealthy could afford it. By the early 1920s, the times were changing. There was still a place for such extravagances, but a new luxury car-owning class could be discerned. They had the means to indulge themselves but looked for much more modest outgoings and running costs. It was to tap this new market that the Rolls-Royce Twenty was introduced in 1922. Built to just the same demanding standards as its magnificent predecessor, but simpler both to manufacture and to keep up, it was, after initial tremors, highly successful. Refinement more than high performance was always the Derby factory's objective with the six-cylinder Twenty. There was a smooth pushrod overhead six-cylinder engine in unit with a three-speed gearbox controlled by a centre gear-change, driving through an open propeller shaft to a rear axle suspended by simple half elliptic springs. By 1926 there were four speeds and the gears were controlled by a right hand lever in a more traditional gate. Brakes on all four wheels came in at about the same time. In common with the steering and clutch, they were light and precise to operate, for the type was intended to appeal to owner-driver clients as well as to those who could afford to employ a chauffeur.
Like many similar manufacturing busineses, La Carosserie Kellner was established in central Paris in the middle of the last century, but moved out to the industrial suburb of Billancourt along the banks of the Seine some thirty years later. As the French motor industry flourished, so did Kellner, specialising in coachwork on the greatest luxury marques. Their beautifully balanced four-seater torpedo tourers on Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost chassis were style leaders in their time, but it was for their brougham de ville town carriages that they received great acclaim at each year's Paris Salon. Kellner's broughams changed little through the 1920s. Their appeal was based on nostalgia for an even then long-past world of fine horse-drawn carriages and with gently curving surfaces and "razor edge" outlines, demanded the highest levels of craftsmanship. As may be seen on this example, it was a very specialised body style, intended entirely for town work, usually provided with neither luggage trunk nor grid. Indeed, this car's build records, made available for examination from the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts Club archive, specify a maximum load comprising up to four people, but no luggage.
This 20 hp chassis was despatched from the factory in December 1928 and travelled via Folkestone-Boulogne channel ferry and Automobiles Rolls-Royce Paris to Kellner. It journeyed on four "scrap test" wheels, for the original order asked for Hoffmann wooden artillery wheels to be supplied in Paris. The coachbuilders must have had a suitable body in stock, for the complete car was finally tested by Rolls-Royce Paris on 21st February 1929 before delivery to M.J. Groult, its first owner. The Paris service record is complete until 1935. Subsequently the Twenty travelled to the USA, where in the early 1970s it was owned by Mr. A. Scheinmam.
Points of interest include the well preserved, original elaborate button-pleated rear interior, the nickel finish to bright parts and the typically French dashboard, cellulosed to match the coachwork, a speaking tube from passenger to chauffeur.
A new owner will need to re-register the car before road use. At the time of writing Christie's have not had the opportunity to inspect or drive this vehicle, please contact the department for any additional information during the viewing period.