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Details
1926 ROLLS-ROYCE 20 HP LANDAULET
COACHWORK BY HOOPER OF LONDON
Chassis No. GUK 44
Engine No. G1772
Black with tan cloth interior
Engine: six-cylinder in-line, pushrod overhead valve, 3127cc; Gearbox: manual four-speed with right-hand lever; Suspension: beam axle to front, live axle to rear, half elliptic springs all round; Brakes: servo-assisted, mechanically operated four-wheel drum. Right hand drive.
In 1906 Claude Johnson, the commercial genius who did so much to ensure Rolls-Royce's enormous early success, had launched the company on a one-model policy. The model was the fabled six-cylinder 40/50hp 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 those 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 center 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.
The factory's records, now in the care of the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts' Club, in England, show that Chassis GUK 44 was delivered to Hoopers by train in June 1926 for the body to be fitted. Enclosed limousine coachwork in place, the car was shipped by the SS Caronia from Southhampton to New York in 1941, but no further information is available from that point until its acquisition by Mr. Pettit in about 1950. As presented it is in excellent condition, although new covering to the folding portion of the head may be required. The rear interior, finished with mahogany and German silver, is particularly fine.
WITHOUT RESERVE
COACHWORK BY HOOPER OF LONDON
Chassis No. GUK 44
Engine No. G1772
Black with tan cloth interior
Engine: six-cylinder in-line, pushrod overhead valve, 3127cc; Gearbox: manual four-speed with right-hand lever; Suspension: beam axle to front, live axle to rear, half elliptic springs all round; Brakes: servo-assisted, mechanically operated four-wheel drum. Right hand drive.
In 1906 Claude Johnson, the commercial genius who did so much to ensure Rolls-Royce's enormous early success, had launched the company on a one-model policy. The model was the fabled six-cylinder 40/50hp 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 those 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 center 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.
The factory's records, now in the care of the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts' Club, in England, show that Chassis GUK 44 was delivered to Hoopers by train in June 1926 for the body to be fitted. Enclosed limousine coachwork in place, the car was shipped by the SS Caronia from Southhampton to New York in 1941, but no further information is available from that point until its acquisition by Mr. Pettit in about 1950. As presented it is in excellent condition, although new covering to the folding portion of the head may be required. The rear interior, finished with mahogany and German silver, is particularly fine.
WITHOUT RESERVE