Rolls-Royce 20/25 Hooper Limousine

One of four Rolls-Royce 20/25 models in our sale today, this particular Hooper-bodied limousine was first registered in February 1934. According to a letter in the history file, it was built on the instructions of Thames-Side Motor Garage for a Mrs Albertini of Windsor Great Park and was one of 10 such cars made by Hooper. Detailed build sheets document the exact specification of the car which cost the princely sum of £1,671 when delivered.

An old buff log book shows that by 1945 the car was in the hands of Collyer & McBride, Handsworth, Birmingham, and was then sold to Lawrences Garage of Lozells, Birmingham in 1960. They were to keep the car for the next 35 years until the current vendor acquired it in 1995.

Joining a 10-strong fleet of wedding cars, the limousine has been earning a good income for the last 16 years and is said to have proved totally reliable throughout that time. Always well maintained in the current ownership, it has been fitted with a new cylinder head at some point. Old MOTs going back to 1973 show the mileage rising from 25,800 to the present total of 47,800.

In generally good order throughout, the interior has some nice touches including an Art Deco cut glass ashtray and two fold-away occasional seats in the rear passenger compartment which make it a full seven-seater. It also has a nice transferable Birmingham registration number, GOB 61. With an MOT until September 2012 and taxed until next July it is ready for immediate use and is only being sold due to a down-sizing of the vendor’s business.