1935 Rolls-Royce 20/25hp 4-Door All-Weather Tourer
Coachwork by Corsica of Cricklewood
Registration no. BYE 555
Chassis no. GHF 10
Engine no. W-2-B

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 and yet, when called upon, could cope admirably with Continental touring. Its successor, the 20/25, introduced in 1929, updated the concept with significant improvements, featuring an enlarged (from 3.1 to 3.7 litres) and more-powerful version of the Twenty's six-cylinder overhead-valve engine. Produced contemporaneously with the Phantom II, the 20/25 benefited from many of the features, such as synchromesh gears and centralised chassis lubrication, developed for the larger model and, with a total of 3827 of the 20/25 chassis manufactured, this would become the best-selling R-R model of the inter-war period.

The Rolls-Royce 20/25 was, of course, exclusively a coachbuilt automobile and most of the great British coachbuilding firms offered designs, many of them , unique, on the 20/25 chassis. This example from the G2 Series of rolling chassis, originally sporting Saloon coachwork, was first registered in 1935 in Croydon, Surrey, and reportedly gained the current attractive Corsica All-Weather Tourer body for four with the pre-war Cricklewood coachbuilder's plates on the sills during the 1960s. We understand that earlier registration documentation indicates previous ownership in the West Country for more than half a century, latterly in long-term residency on a farm in Cornwall. With 13 old tax discs and the most recent MOT from 2013 on file, the pre-war R-R is now both MOT and road tax exempt.

The 4-door coachwork has been previously repainted in bottle green, the wings in black. A fully-lined hood folds back to reveal a well trimmed interior with green leather covered seats for four and matching carpets, the dashboard and door cappings in polished wood. During current ownership, GHF 10 has been re-commissioned and serviced, and is only being auctioned due to the vendor's ill health, which now prevents his driving the car.