What you're looking at is a 1959 Rolls-Royce Silver
Cloud that was coachbuilt, as so many were in its day – but this one was
converted into a wagon. That's something that Goodwood has never offered from
the factory, but soon will with its debut “high-sided vehicle,” to borrow the
manufacturer's own terminology.
The conversion was one of just four made in
collaboration between H.J. Mulliner (which would later become the automaker's
own in-house coachbuilder) and London-based specialist Harold Radford – and one
of just two on the shorter wheelbase. While the lower part of the bodywork was
left mostly in tact, the upper half extended the roofline to offer more cargo
space that was especially handy for hunting hence the “shooting brake”
moniker that would later be applied mostly to coupe wagons.
This particular example was delivered – via Cunard's
Queen Elizabeth ocean liner, no less – to a customer in Wichita, Kansas. It was
outfitted with a fabric sunroof, customs seats (including a rather utilitarian
fold-flat rear bench), and three-stage horn, in classic green with green-piped
tan interior and matching carpets.
It's being sold as part of the RM Sotheby's auction
next month at Amelia Island, complete with luggage set and fresh from a
complete restoration process. Darin Schnabel photographed it for the auction
house, which anticipates it will sell for a solid US$ 425,000 (give or take US$ 50k)
– or about as much as Rolls charged for a Phantom when it was still being
built. Expect a Cullinan crossover to cost about that much (with the right
options specified) once it hits the market.
