Rolls-Royce Mulliner Park Ward Drop Head Coupe

Click Here for Full Screen Image - Click Here to Download Image

Up until the arrival of the post-war Silver Dawn, Rolls-Royces had been supplied in chassis-only form, the choice of coachwork supplier being determined by the new owner in consultation with the supplying dealer.

The Silver Dawn changed this, sharing the same factory produced body pressings as the Bentley MkVI. Its eventual replacement, the Silver Cloud, was also routinely delivered with factory bodywork, although the use of conventional chassis on these models meant that they could still be clothed by outside companies for the wealthy few who had specific ideas about how they wanted their new car to look.

When the Cloud’s replacement appeared in 1965, the Shadow’s monocoque construction put a halt to such luxuries, although by this time there were precious few coachbuilders around to help out, the market for bespoke coachwork having shrunk to virtually nothing. In order to boost business at Rolls-Royce-owned Mulliner Park Ward, the firm developed a two-door Shadow to be sold through the Rolls-Royce dealer network. The result was the divine Bill Allen designed Mulliner Park Ward Coupe, this elegant two-door being joined by the equally lovely Mulliner Park Ward Drop Head Coupe a year later, their 20-week build time adding 50% to the list price of the car.

The conversion of the standard four-door monocoque bodyshell was a major undertaking, the car being finished to a very high standard using Wilton carpeting, Connolly hide and the best burr walnut veneers, giving them a level of quality and glamour that far outstripped the saloon. Demand was so great that the waiting list was measured in years, not months, a state of affairs that resulted in them being given their own model name, Corniche, in March 1971.

This imposing MPW Drop Head Coupe, chassis DRH 7500, dates from 1969 and was ordered by a gentleman living in Sydney. Delivered new to Australia, it returned to these shores in 2000 where it was purchased by the vendor’s neighbor.

Much money had been lavished on the car before it was acquired by the vendor at the start of this year, including extensive work to the front brakes and a new header tank. Although all the walnut trim has been professionally restored by a Rolls-Royce trained specialist, it has not yet been refitted.

Offered for sale due to an impending house move and consequent loss of garage space, we are informed that everything works and the car has just flown through its MOT with no advisories.

Having spent most of its life in the sunshine, the bodywork on this early example is unusually sound, making this car a most attractive proposition for someone able to complete the few cosmetic jobs that need sorting out. Rarer and far more elegant than the later, heavier looking Shadow II-based Corniche, these early examples are definitely the ones to go for.