Lot details

Registration No: EVH 600
Chassis No: WFC 29
MOT: Exempt

Reputed to be 1 of just 2 examples to this body design

Understood to have been used on many RREC events and rallies

Offered with a history file and current V5c

Produced between 1946 and 1959, the Silver Wraith was the last Rolls-Royce to be delivered in chassis form alone, of which a total of 1883 was produced - 1,244 with 117in wheelbase and 639 with the 133in wheelbase that was standard from 1953. Many were purchased for official duties and featured formal limousine-style coachwork, with a large number of Wraiths serving as state cars for the Dutch, Danish and Greek royal households and the Irish and Brazilian presidencies. The capacity of the straight-six engine rose from an initial 4257cc to 4566cc in 1951 and was further increased to 4887cc during 1954. Early examples were only available with four-speed manual transmissions, but from 1952 there was the option of a General Motors automatic. The model has frequently starred on the silver screen, making appearances in 'Witness for the Prosecution', 'The Return of the Pink Panther', 'Arthur', 'Batman' and 'Batman Returns', to name but a few of its many movie credits.

Even in its basic 'Standard Steel' guise, the Wraith was an elegant car, but buyers who wanted something more spectacular still were free to buy it as a rolling chassis and take it to one of the many great coachbuilding houses that survived in Britain and the wider world into the 1950s. That is exactly what the first owner of this Wraith opted to do, taking the chassis to Rippon of Huddersfield - Britain's oldest coachbuilder, which was building carriages as early as 1555. By the mid-20th century, Rippon was building graceful bodies of a quality equal to Park Ward, H. J. Mulliner and Barker.

The first owner of this Wraith, Yorkshire woodwork engineer Mr. W. H. 'Willie' Smith (no relation to the stationers) desired something more elegant and exclusive than even a Standard Steel Wraith, and in 1948 he approached Rippon of Huddersfield - Britain's oldest coachbuilder - about the construction of a Wraith coupe. Rippon, which was building carriages as early as 1555, completed the car by late 1949, in time to exhibit it on their stand at the Earls Court Motor Show in October, before Mr. Smith took delivery in early 1950.

During the mid-1950s, Mr. Smith handed the car over to his daughter, who used it for a time as an everyday car, but before long she fell in love with it; she and her husband joined the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts' Club in the 1970s and drove the Wraith at many events at home and overseas into the 1980s, visiting places including Spain, Denmark and the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium, which it lapped ahead of the Six Hours sports-car race

Mr. Smith's grandson inherited the car in 1993 and he in turn became quite the enthusiast, using the Wraith for many pleasure outings and family weddings and maintaining it with the help of various marque specialists. Consequently, this believed-unique Wraith is extraordinary on several counts. Apart from being in single-family ownership from new and offered on the market for the first time ever, it has never been fully restored and therefore appears in a marvellous state of originality. The vendor says it exhibits an “age-related patina” and praises the quality of the interior, with its delightful marquetry, woollen carpets and Bakelite: “It exudes the warmth of leather and varnish - the quality of Rippon's build shines through today.” Truly, this Wraith is an outstanding survivor and represents a not-to-be-missed preservation opportunity. The Wraith is offered with history file and a current V5c document.

For more information, please contact:
James McWilliam
james.mcwilliam@handh.co.uk
07943 584760