Description
H&H Classic Auction @ The Imperial War Museum, Duxford/ Cambridgeshire
20th September, 2023 10:00
1964 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III 'Flying Spur'
1 of only 54 examples with coachwork by H. J. Mulliner
Estimate
£120, 000 - £150, 000
Lot details
Registration No: IOM Registered
Chassis No: SFU261
MOT: Exempt
1 of just thirty-five RHD Cloud IIIs chassis bodied by H. J. Mulliner Park Ward to its revered 'Flying Spur' Design Number 2042
Four owners from new with the previous being rock band T-Rex’s accountant, Sam Alder
Subject to extensive restoration work while residing in current ownership
The most sporting of the Clouds
Pleasingly presents in its original colour combination
The price of four Jaguar E-Type 4. 2 Coupes when new or a Ferrari 330GT 2+2 plus three Minis!
The Silver Cloud II unveiled in 1959 brought a redesigned ventilation system and standardised power steering. The biggest change, however, was the replacement of the six-cylinder engine with an all-alloy 6. 2-litre V8 unit. The unquoted output was sufficient to whisk the model to 60mph in under 11 seconds and on to a top speed of 112mph. The final iteration of the Cloud family, the Silver Cloud III, brought the option of rakish Drophead and Fixed Head Coupes in addition to the standard and coachbuilt-bodied Limousines. The exterior dimensions were subtly altered, the interior remodelled and the weight reduced by some 220 lbs. Engine improvements included replacing the 1. 75 inch SU carburettors with 2. 0 inch ones and raising the compression ratio to 9:1 in recognition of the improving quality of fuel. The resulting extra performance was reflected in Motor magazine's 1964 test, which returned a time of just 10. 1 seconds for the 0-60mph dash and a mean top speed of 114. 3mph. The obvious visual change was the adoption of four headlamps. Less noticeable were the slightly increased slope of the bonnet and the shorter (by 1. 5 inches) radiator grille.
Introduced on the S1 Continental and known as the 'Flying Spur', this design was a collaborative effort by Rolls-Royce's in-house styling department and H J Mulliner, and bore a strong resemblance both to the two-door Continental and to existing coachbuilt four-door styles on Rolls-Royce and (non-Continental) Bentley chassis. To the Continental's existing qualities of pace and elegance, the Flying Spur added four-door practicality, a more spacious interior, and a generously proportioned trunk. The Flying Spur body style continued on the V8-engined S2 Continental and was revised to incorporate the S3's four-headlamp front end following the latter's introduction in 1962. Owner of Park Ward since 1939, Rolls-Royce had taken over H J Mulliner in 1959, and by the time chassis number ' SFU261' was completed in 1964, the pair had been merged as H J Mulliner Park Ward Ltd, thus securing the future of Britain's two largest surviving coachbuilders. By the time the last chassis had been built, a total of 2, 809 Cloud IIIs had entered the automotive world, but only 54 of those carried the distinctive so-called 'Flying Spur' bodywork; more officially known as Mulliner Park Ward design No. 2042.
Chassis SFU261 was supplied new via Jack Barclays Ltd of London to its first owner, Cooper Investments Limited of West Bromwich, on the 17th of April 1964 and was originally registered ‘CLN 310B’. Specified from the factory with electric windows to all doors, Dunlop tubeless tyres, luggage straps, and Hirschmann electric aerial, the Rolls-Royces Mulliner coachwork was finished in striking two-tone paintwork of Midnight Blue over Steel Blue with complementary Blue leather upholstery. Retained in first ownership for only a short period, thereafter, the Rolls-Royce is known to have passed into the hands of Warwick Woolen & Co of London in 1965, before Derek Wheeler Esq of Warren Street, W1, London in 1970 and subsequently Clark Brothers Ltd of Wolverhampton later in the 1970s. Sold by marque specialists Frank Dale Ltd to the fifth keeper, rock band T-Rex’s manager/ accountant Sam Alder in 1982 (with a letter on file from James Crickmay to Sam Alder), the ‘Flying Spur’ was repainted into a Black colour scheme at the request of Mr Alder.
Laid up towards the end of Sam Alder’s ownership, the Cloud is believed to have spent approximately fifteen years off the road. Upon acquisition as a project by the late vendor in 2013, SFU261 was lavished with a comprehensive mechanical and cosmetic restoration that was embarked on across the subsequent seven years with the expenditure understood to have surpassed £80, 000. The bodywork was provided with a full restoration with repairs to the metalwork wherever required before the Rolls-Royce was lavished with a bare metal respray, pleasingly reverting to its original colour combination. The mechanicals of chassis SFU261 were completely renewed or renovated as needed with a full engine overhaul provided with cylinder block repairs, heads overhauled, new dynamo, and numerous other new parts supplied in the overhaul. The brakes (including handbrake), steering, and suspension were all refurbished with the wheels shod with new tyres, before the interior was supplied with a full refresh including repairs and recolouring to the seats and door cards, and a new carpet set in the interior and boot.
Having covered less an approximately 3, 000 miles since the completion of the renovation, the Mulliner clothed Cloud started readily and ran well during our photography session. The Rolls-Royce is offered with a large history file that contains the RREC Chassis Card records, original Handbook, extensive previous invoices and receipts, work cards from specialists P. J. Evans during the 1970s, previous purchase invoices and correspondence, and other sundry paperwork. The vendor describes the four-seater as being in ‘excellent’ condition in regards to bodywork, paintwork, engine, electrical equipment and automatic transmission and to have ‘very good’ interior trim. The most sporting of the Clouds and among the most stylish and exclusive Sports Saloons of the 1960s, this rare Cloud III 'Flying Spur' would make a great addition to any marque collection or as a very elegant and usable classic.
Please note: We have been advised that vehicles registered on, and imported from, the Isle of Man are not subject to Import Duty. Nor is a NOVA application required for their re-registration in the United Kingdom.
