1929 Rolls-Royce Twenty Drop Head Coupé

1929 Rolls-Royce Twenty Drop Head Coupé

• A fabulous Twenty carrying arguably the most coveted coachwork design
• A late example featuring vertical radiator shutters, 4-wheel brakes and a 4-speed gearbox
• Original coachwork with matching numbers
• Fitted with an overdrive making this a surprisingly capable touring car.

This delightful Rolls-Royce Twenty is in lovely order.  Having recently completed the 20-Ghost Club’s French Tour ‘Champagne to Provence’, it is a capable and well-proven car.  The Hooper Drop Head Coupé coachwork is favoured by many and incorporates many distinctive features, making it a stunningly eye-catching example. Being a late Twenty, it greatly benefits from 4-wheel brakes and a 4-speed gearbox. In recent years, an overdrive has been added making this a great car to drive.

Chassis GFN39 was ‘on test’ on 13^th October 1928 and ‘off test’ on 16^th January 1929.  With front wheel brakes and a ‘raked’ steering column, the chassis was despatched and then delivered to Hooper & Co Ltd on 21^st January 1929 for the fitting of its Drop Head Coupé body.  It was specified to have seating arrangements of ‘2 on front, 2 on dickey and another 2 (two small folding seats behind front seat)’.  The car retains this configuration today.

GFN39 is a late Twenty, fitted by Rolls-Royce with the vertical radiator shutters.  The original owner specified the car have a taller (20/25 style) radiator with a dashboard 2” wider and ¾” higher at the centre and sides.  Hooper features included a patent signal window to the pull-out cylinder shaped parking lights and woodwork from quarter sawn laurel wood.  A Stephen Grebel spotlight was mounted to the driver’s side windscreen pillar.

The completed car was delivered on 21^st March 1929 when it was finally tested at Hoopers.  It was ordered by the Clyde Automobile Co Ltd of Glasgow for their customer James G Reid and registered GE-4310 in 1929.  It later passed to a Mr FA Wright of Seremban, Federal Malay States. By 1946 the car was owned by a Mr Mulvany of Wimpole Street, London.  It then went through a succession of owners and was based in America between 1971 and 1997.

In the hands of the current owner, significant work has been carried out by reputable Rolls-Royce specialists and the car is in thoroughly good order and ready to go.  It is a beautiful car which provokes reaction from onlookers and will certainly provide great enjoyment to its next custodian.