1934 Rolls-Royce 20/25hp Three-position Drophead Coupé
Coachwork by Automobile Services
Registration no. DT 6010
Chassis no. GWE 40

The introduction of a smaller Rolls-Royce - the 20hp - in 1922 enabled the company to cater for the increasingly important owner-driver market that appreciated the quality of Rolls-Royce engineering but did not need a car as large as a 40/50hp Ghost or Phantom. The 'Twenty' proved eminently suited to town use yet could cope admirably with Continental touring when called upon. Nevertheless, by the late 1920s the trend towards ever-heavier coachwork was beginning to have a detrimental effect on the Twenty's performance.

Introduced in 1929, the successor 20/25hp model addressed this problem, featuring numerous improvements, the most significant of which was an enlarged (from 3,127 to 3,669cc) version of the Twenty's six-cylinder, overhead-valve engine. The latter's increased power allowed the bespoke coachbuilders greater freedom in their efforts to satisfy a discerning clientele that demanded ever larger and more opulent designs. Produced concurrently with the Phantom II, the 20/25 benefited from many of the larger model's improvements, such as synchromesh gears and centralised chassis lubrication, becoming the best-selling Rolls-Royce of the inter-war period.

Off test on 24th September 1934, chassis number 'GWE 40' was originally completed with limousine coachwork by Rippon Brothers of Huddersfield, Yorkshire, Britain's oldest coachbuilder and without question one of its finest. The car's first owner was one A Thompson and it was registered as 'DT 6010', a Doncaster mark.

The current vendor purchased 'DT 6010' from Peter Plunkett of Automobile Services, the marque specialist and coachbuilder in Greenfield, Greater Manchester around 24 years ago. Peter agreed to re-body the car to the owner's choice. A copy of a three-position drophead by Gurney Nutting was chosen, and Peter undertook the work a couple of years later, circa 1994. The interior was upholstered by Stewart Epps of Mulliner Park Ward fame and the engine fully rebuilt, including the installation of a new aluminium cylinder head by Geoff Sutton, the former engine builder from Brunts of Silverdale, who undertook the work after Brunts closed in the late 1990s. 'DT 6010' has been rallied extensively in Ireland as well as on Welsh tours, but otherwise has been used for high days and holidays only. Fewer than 5,000 miles have been covered since the engine rebuild, and the car has only been used for local outings over the last few years. Lacking the fuel gauge, which never returned from the repairers some years ago, the instruments would benefit from cosmetic restoration. The car is offered with a substantial history file and a V5 registration document.