Osbourne Rolls Royce – The Gentleman’s Choice

Back in the 1930s, one didn’t simply go out and buy a luxury car. Machines of that ilk weren’t ‘off the shelf’ items that could be bought en masse. No, a luxury car was something the buyer would labour over and have built to his exact specifications. That way, when he was out enjoying the uncluttered Queen’s Highway, he could do so without fear of seeing another car the same. To buy a luxury car in the 1930s was to buy exclusivity, and that’s what the 1935 Rolls Royce you’re looking at here is the very embodiment of. There never was, nor never will be another quite like it.

The story starts in the mid 1930s when hugely successful coal baron, Mr Harper Esquire, was in need of a new set of wheels. Something befitting a master of industry status. Something that said, without a hint of ambiguity, he’d made it. And this being the 1930s, a Rolls Royce was at the very top of the luxury pecking order. A car fit for royalty, it was more than fit for Mr Harper, and don’t you forget the Esquire. 

A Rolls Royce 20/25 was ordered. This was the second car to be built during the pre-war era by Rolls, and it would go on to be the most popular inter-war offering from the company. The 20/25 took over from the 20hp Rolls that was introduced in 1922. More powerful thanks to an increased bore of 3.25 inches over the previous 3, the 3,669cc straight six was better than it had ever been. Rolls Royce wanted to appeal to the owner driver market, so power and pace were exceptionally important. It was also, as it transpired, exceptionally popular, with some 3,827 customers buying the new 25.4hp machine.

Of course, this being the 1930s, the Rolls Royce didn’t come with a body. Instead, buyers paid their money for a chassis, wheels, steering, brakes and of course, that all-important engine. The body fell to whichever third party the buyer had nominated. Park Ward, Mulliner and Hooper are but some of the names you might expect to be associated with such a machine. 

For Mr Harper Esquire, however, there was another company to consider, namely R.W Osbourne, a relatively small outfit based in Saffron Waldon. Unusually, the company had actually made a name for itself by building commercial vehicle bodies. Still, for reasons known only to Mr Harper Esquire, he nominated them to build the sports touring saloon body for his new Rolls.

Harper had some interesting ideas for his build. Firstly, he was a man who was reluctant to remove his tall hat, so the roofline of the Rolls was designed to suit this. Despite the fact that Rolls Royce had the intention of the 20/25 being driven by its respective owners, Harper had no interest in this. Instead, he would ride in the back with his mistress – he with an ashtray built into the door for his cigar, her with a vanity mirror equivalent. The driver, whomever that may have been, sat far forwards, while Harper and his company were seated far back into the spacious cabin of the Osbourne body. It was, as they say, a different time.

The car was a firm favourite for our Esquire, so much so that he kept it in his collection until he sadly passed away in 1952. After that, the Rolls fell off the radar as it worked its way through differing private owners. 

It was in the 1960s when the Rolls’ story once again saw momentum. R.W Osbourne was, by this time, a considerable name in the commercial coachbuilding industry. Sadly, the original founder, Rex Osbourne, passed away during this time. However, his son, Tony, was more than able to keep up the good work of the company moving forward. And when he did indeed take control, he found himself thinking back to that one Rolls Royce his company had bodied back in the day.

Rex, as the car has become affectionately titled, was missing in action. But Tony wasn’t going to let that be the end of the story. Instead, he started the hunt for the car, and after much searching, he came up trumps. The car had long since left the UK and was in fact living in Cape May, New Jersey, under the ownership of two doctors, Richard and Robert Renza. Thanks to the help of The Real Car Company in Bethesda, the car was brought back to home soil in 1990. Tony had done it. 

To his surprise, the car had covered some 229,000 miles by this point, which is a lot for modern standards, let alone for a pre-war car. However, as a testament to both the quality of Rolls and the people who had owned the car after Harper, it still ran like a champion. However, Tony wasn’t looking to keep the car as it was. Instead, it was to be reborn by his hand, a hand that by proxy crafted the car originally. Though not without some help. As such, the Ristes Motor Company of Nottingham was charged with the complete overhaul of the mechanical elements and chassis, while Hooper and a handful of other specialists including Tony Osbourne, would tackle the mammoth task of bringing that one-off body back up to standard.

It took some six years of Tony and his appointed agents to get the car ready for the road once more. The body had been given a sympathetic and understanding refurbishment, while the engine had been reworked from the ground to effectively bring it back to as new condition. The finishing touch came from the DVLA – they allowed it to once again to wear its original plate of GSF74. 

Once complete, Tony once again parted with the car, seeing to it that it went to a caring custodian. Those custodians were Peter and Jean Jackson, who used the magnificent old Roller as a wedding car before retiring in 2014.

Now the car sits within the stock of Kaaimans International, and is somewhat juxtaposed against the Spyker, the Lamborghinis and other exotica. But that’s fine. We like that it stands out, as that was always the purpose of such a vehicle. When Mr Harper Esquire ordered this car in 1934, he did so with a view to be seen, to be recognised and to be celebrated. We can only assume that it would please him no end to know that today, in 2019, his fabulous machine is still going strong. They don’t, as they say, make them like they used to.

If you’re in the market for a car that is truly a one-off, you can find the 1935 Rolls Royce here for a very reasonable £79,975