If post-war Britain had a soundtrack, it would probably be the tearing of ration-book coupons and the gentle sobbing of men who’d just been told they couldn’t have butter until 1950. And yet, into this grey land of utility furniture and powdered eggs rolled something altogether more theatrical, more flamboyant, and frankly more bonkers. It was none other than Nubar Gulbenkian and his Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith. Truly unlike any other Roller on the planet, this retina-burning example is heading to Historics Auctioneer’s upcoming Brooklands Velocity sale at Mercedes-Benz World on November 29th.
The Gulbenkian family fortune was made in the oil business in Baku in the 1880's, and subsequently expanded to include the Iraq Petroleum Company. Calouste became a British citizen in 1902 and donated 70,000,000 dollars and a vast art collections to start the Foundation. After his death in 1955, his son Nubar Gulbenkian carried on the philanthropic work. This extended to automobiles, and it wouldn’t be long until the customisation of Rolls-Royces would take place, resulting in some of the craziest classic models ever seen. Think Mansory were the only ones to offer turquoise leather within your Roller’s back seats? Nubar got there before them all!
We continue the acid trip with the most eye-catching piece of the car, the roof, which is fully transparent and made of Perspex. Why exactly? Because Nubar intended to use it on the Côte d’Azur, and what’s the point of being seen if the sun isn’t bouncing off your perfectly groomed moustache through a plastic skylight? If things grew toasty, an electrically operated blind could ensure the car went from sun-drenched to dark as night in an instant. The interior woodwork and dashboard are trimmed in beautiful walnut wood, and it has a speedometer fitted in the rear passenger compartment. Gulbenkian also specified air conditioning, electric windows and a television set, although the latter is long gone. After Gulbenkian sold the car, it appeared in the 1964 motion picture, Les Félins (released in the USA as Joy House and the UK as The Love Cage) which starred Jane Fonda and Alain Delon. The car was sold again in 1968, on this occasion to René Gourdon, owner of La Belle Étoile dance hall in Nice, France, where it was repainted in bright yellow and kept garaged in the building’s basement where, we are informed, it was used as a booth or seating spectacle.
The car was then rediscovered in 2007 and promptly restored back to its former glory, returning the car to a very Gulbenkian-esk paint: a two-tone symphony of blue, while its interior was given a lengthy refresh to create an incredible place to sit and relax. A true one off with incredible provenance, this is perhaps the most recognisable period Rolls-Royce currently available, and Historics Auctioneers expect the car to fetch anything from 200,000 pounds all the way up to 325,000 pounds, let’s see!
Weybridge, 29 Nov
