Description
H&H Classic Auction @ The Imperial War Museum, Duxford/ Cambridgeshire
19th June, 2024 13:00
1926 Rolls-Royce 20hp Sedanca de Ville
Estimate £20, 000 - £24, 000
Registration No: EC 6810
Chassis No: GSK44
MOT: Exempt
In current family ownership since 1998
Offered with original Brown log book and current V5c document
Featured in the movie Fantastic Beasts: The Grimes of Grindlewald
Fitted with the current Barker Sedanca de Ville coachwork in the c. 2003
Unveiled in 1922, the 20hp was a second string to the Rolls-Royce bow – a shorter, more economical sibling to the Silver Ghost which broadened the marque’s reach to span both the very rich and seriously wealthy and was instantly distinguished by its horizontal radiator shutters. Power came from a 3, 127cc straight-six, OHV monobloc engine mated to a three-speed manual gearbox. Braking was initially on the rear wheels alone. Progressively updated to feature a four-speed gearbox and servo-assisted all-wheel braking, the ‘baby’ Rolls remained in production until 1929, by when some 2, 885 examples had vacated the company’s Derby factory. Lighter and more responsive than the Silver Ghost, the 20hp was capable of exceeding 60mph.
Original clothed as a Saloon by Watson's of Hamilton Square, Birkenhead, ‘EC 6810’ was found under arches in Liverpool’s South Docks in 1954, after service with a funeral business in the city. Needing a gearbox repair, Rolls-Royce replied to a request for the bill, “Mr Williams, Rolls-Royce gearboxes don’t fail” – and that was it! Even negotiating trips into Lakeland and the fells on several occasions, in 1959 a barn roof fell onto it was sold to a scrap merchant in 1959.
More recently, and still surviving, ‘EC 6810’ has been in current family ownership for some 27 years, since 1998, This Sedanca De Ville clothed Rolls Royce 20hp has been fitted with the current Barker Sedanca de Ville coachwork in c. 2003. The original saloon body was in a poor state, so the body was removed and replaced when the vendor purchased a 20hp Barker Sedanca De Ville body with fittings in auction.
Today, it presents in Maroon with a Beige cloth and Black leather interior and notably, was selected to appear in the Harry Potter prequel film 'Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald' (2018), in part filmed in Liverpool, ‘EC 6810’s’ old home. Mechanically, its has been the subject of a previous engine overhaul. ‘EC 6810’ is being offered with an old brown logbook on file and the current V5C Registration Document.
