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30/09/2004 10:14 am
Be Still, My Heart!...
1933 ROLLS-ROYCE 20/25 SHOOTING BRAKE
COACHWORK BY RIPPON BROS
Chassis No. GBA 56
Estimated Value: $50,000 - $70,000
Price Realized: $52,875.00 at Christie's Auction, 18 May 2002
From the Auction notes:
"According to the build sheet records, this 20/25 was initially ordered with enclosed limousine coachwork for J. McNair Snadden of Blau Drummond, Stirling, Scotland. Whether Mr. Snadden took delivery of the Rolls-Royce with such coachwork is unknown because by the outbreak of the Second World War, the car was sporting the shooting brake body by Rippon Bros. that it still carries, and was appropriately in service on a Scottish sporting estate. The Royal Army subsequently requisitioned the car and its colorful adventures thereafter included active service in the North African desert. It was here that the car collected some scars of battle and in the 1970s it appeared at Automotive Restorations in Stratford, CT, still in its camouflage livery and sporting several bullet holes...no doubt as a result of action against Rommel and company. The owner at the time commissioned a complete restoration but then seemingly lost interest along the way, so the car sat unfinished until the current owner, twenty years later, came to the rescue when collecting his Bentley from the same restoration shop.
"Thus the restoration continued including stripping the metalwork and repainting in Brewster green and rechroming the brightwork except the radiator shell where the nickel plating was fine. The woodwork had been previously stripped and revarnished so did not need any more attention. The front seats had also been refurbished so only the back bench seat and jump seats required attention. The flooring was recovered in fluted rubber matting. Little mechanical work was needed since the motor ran so well and has always been reliable, although the car was rewired and the starter was rebuilt. The oil pressure is excellent, the car starts first time, runs well and has been completely trouble free in its current ownership. The owner is a true enthusiast and has had the car restored properly, such as the correct varnished wood frame roof tightly covered in rubberized canvas, done in the same way as woodies were originally built. He has even kept the Ace wheel discs, as found, in their desert camouflage."
30/09/2004 10:55 am
Thanks for sharing the history of this beautiful car. It is amazing that it is still in great shape
30/09/2004 10:56 am
Don't you just love the term "Shooting Brake" -
I did think it was "break", though. It makes more sense as gentlemen would take a break from wild game hunting esentially with a tailgate party at these vehicles.
30/09/2004 11:57 am
Brake/Break/Shooting Brake: Interesting Terminology...
In the days of wagons and carriages, before automotive power, a "brake" was defined as a heavy, open horse-drawn vehicle equipped with longitudinal and usually removable seats to carry up to fourteen passengers. Entry was through a rear door and step. "Break" was an alternate spelling. By the end of the 19th century, the brake had evolved into a vehicle used to carry groups through the countryside; a "shooting brake" was designed for a party of hunters, ie, shooters. The term carried forward and was applied to automobiles designed for similar purposes. "Estate wagon" competed as a description for the same vehicle. In North America, where shooting brake had never achieved common usage, "station wagon" evolved into the common form, coming directly from the buckboard-type vehicles used for carrying freight at railroad stops.
A 1912 Delahaye Shooting Brake Evokes It's Rustic Heritage
30/09/2004 12:17 pm
The Brits always had better names for car types, IMO.
Coupe (pronounced "coo-PAY"), saloon, estate, shooting brake. Heck, even "lorry".
They're all so....British.;)
Then you have us 'mericans: coupe ("coop"), sedan, station wagon, truck.
BO-ring!! :O
FYI, a great way to hear the Brits talk cars is to watch "5th Gear" on Speed Channel. (Check your local listings.)
30/09/2004 1:46 pm
Great piece of automotive history, great car. Too bad there's not a mint out there dedicated exclusively to the pre-war models. Yeh, I know, but I can dream can't I:-/:x
30/09/2004 1:51 pm
They may have great neames but on a dark and stormy night you appreciate lights that work and a top that keeps out the rain
30/09/2004 1:55 pm
Roger, This is where Franklin Mint really shined in it's day ,
It's a shame they have faltered. They did allot of one-off cars
30/09/2004 3:07 pm
Ed, you 'da man when it comes to info -
I'm as susceptible to misinterpretation as easily as the next guy. BTW, I think I was influenced by an article in Road & Track some time ago. Thanks.
30/09/2004 7:27 pm
Agree whole heartedly with you there, Doug. Makes me wonder though, how many of us would know if the roof line was a few degrees off or some of the other details that get nit picked over on the post war cars? Whatever, I am more fascinared by the caes that preceeded my living memory than the cars that I grew up with. Thank God for auto museums and the people who restore these old beauties.
30/09/2004 7:30 pm
Actually, the English call a station wagon an "estate car" while.....
the French term is "break" for the same type of vehicle.
Only the English would think of taking a very expensive
car like a Rolls Royce and using it as an off road
vehicle for hunting wild animals.