Description
A complete and untouched barn find RHD 2600 Sprint with an interesting provenance.
History
This rare RHD 2600 Sprint was delivered new through the Parisian main dealer to the editor of Vogue magazine - Baron Nicolas de Gunzburg, an aristocratic socialite who was described by Condé Nast Publications as “one of the most civilized men in Paris”, and was voted into Vanity Fair’s International Best Dressed Hall of Fame in 1971.
A 2600 Sprint finished in Bluette over ivory leather was a fitting choice of transport for such a man then. It appears the car was also fitted with special option bumper over-riders through the dealer that we have not seen before. De Gunzburg used the car in Paris before importing it into the UK in 1968, where it was first-registered as VGC 9F (a number which can be reapplied for when the car is MOTd) to his Regent’s Park property.
De Gunzburg sold the 2600 the following year, where it then passed through a handful of owners over the next ten years until it was taken off the road in 1981, when our previous owner parked the car in the corner of his garage, removed the badges and began to flat back the paint in preparation for a respray.
Fast-forward nigh on 40 years and the car had not been moved - let alone touched - since that time. We purchased the car in December 2017 and have done nothing other than check that the engine is not seized - which it isn’t.
Body
The paint is black over the original bluette. One repaint only we believe. The original colour is still visible in the engine room and dashboard. The panel gaps are exceptionally tight on this car. There is rust to the lower portions of the body as shown in the photos, although the floors appear solid. Bumpers, glass and bright work are all good. Viewing of the car is essential to assess the amount of welding required for the body restoration.
Interior
The interior is excellently preserved. The leather is supple and will no doubt come up beautifully with a deep clean. The headlining is unmarked. The dashboard and carpets are all intact and original.
Mechanicals
The engine is not seized, nor the brakes. Everything is pleasingly original and has crucially never been ‘got at’. Everything is present.
Boot
All original and correct, including the jack with it’s bag and the often-missing battery cover.
Summary
This is not the typical chaos of dismantled parts these projects are usually offered as, but rather a real barn-find with unusual provenance that is a genuinely good basis for restoration.
Supplied with the original handbook, workshop manual, factory key fob, old style green logbooks, the last MOT from 1981, road test reports and de Gunzburg provenance.
We can arrange transport for this car to your address.
E&OE
