Rolls Royce has retained its position at the top of the luxury automobiles for a century now. Its marquee has endured as an icon all over the world. It was the most preferred cars of the royal families of the world and the luxury car maker often customized the automobile according to the tastes and needs of their elite customers. The Rolls Royce cars have always been very expensive but some of the rare and exclusive pieces that have survived have acquired more value over the years and you them popping up at important automobile auctions regularly. Now one of the rarest and most important post-war coach-built Rolls Royce, the 1958 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud I ‘Honeymoon Express’ Drophead Coupe has become available for sale and will feature at the RM’s Monaco Auction on 12th May. The pre sales estimates have put the value of the rare car at $1.59 million.
Rolls Royce: The Royal Car
Rolls Royce car is a chosen luxury amongst the millionaires and billionaires around the world and they are willing to pay large amounts to buy the luxury car. A vintage model adds class to that luxury. The Honeymoon Express made in 1958 is a case in point. It’s truly bespoke coach work makes it one of the most exclusive Rolls Royce cars. This Silver Cloud I Drophead Coupe is one of the only two such Rolls Royce ever built. You might never get an opportunity to own such a car. Freestone & Webb, one of the most respected firms of the time had produced the body. They had made just three bodies, two for Cloud I and the third on a Bentley S1 chassis. The unique body design had created a buzz at the time when it was first displayed at the Freestone & Webb stand at the Earl’s Court Show. The design journalists had named it the ‘Honeymoon Express’ and the name stuck to the exclusive model.
The Most Luxurious and Exclusive Car of the Time
The car has been designed for only two passengers including the driver. The bucket seats have fold down armrests with adjustable seat backs. The car was specially made for Arnold Moreton who was a high ranking Freemason from Manchester. It is not only the body that makes this car exclusive. The car is powered by 178 bhp, 4,887 cc F-Head 6-cylinder engine along with 2 SU carburetors and 4-speed Hydra-Matic automatic transmission. The car boasts of some exclusive features like a pair of cocktail cabinets the rear storage area. The cabinets contain a cocktail shaker and four crystal whiskey tumblers. The car has power-assisted steering along with power windows, and was fitted with car radio which was not common at the time. The car carries all the original road tools, the jack and the inspection torch, and rarely specified for the Silver Cloud, a tachometer paired with the speedometer. The interiors have been done in scarlet red Connolly leather. The hydraulic top of the car is its most luxurious and fascinating feature. The metal flaps on either side of the car open along with the rear cover so that the top can rise effortlessly. Whichever way you look at the car, be it the fins or the covers of the bodywork or the upholstery and extraordinary interior, it is the most exclusive car from the era.
