1929 Rolls-Royce Twenty Drop Head Coupé

• A fabulous Twenty carrying arguably the most coveted coachwork design.
• A late example featuring vertical radiator shutters, 4-wheel brakes and a 4-speed gearbox.
• Original coachwork with matching numbers.
• Fitted with an overdrive making this a surprisingly capable touring car.

This delightful Rolls-Royce Twenty is in lovely order. Having recently completed the 20-Ghost Club’s French Tour ‘Champagne to Provence’, it is a capable and well-proven car. The Hooper Drop Head Coupé coachwork is favoured by many and incorporates many distinctive features, making it a stunningly eye-catching example. Being a late Twenty, it greatly benefits from 4-wheel brakes and a 4-speed gearbox. In recent years, an overdrive has been added making this a great car to drive.

Chassis GFN39 was ‘on test’ on 13th October 1928 and ‘off test’ on 16th January 1929. With front wheel brakes and a ‘raked’ steering column, the chassis was despatched and then delivered to Hooper & Co Ltd on 21st January 1929 for the fitting of its Drop Head Coupé body. It was specified to have seating arrangements of ‘2 on front, 2 on dickey and another 2 (two small folding seats behind front seat)’. The car retains this configuration today.

GFN39 is a late Twenty, fitted by Rolls-Royce with the vertical radiator shutters. The original owner specified the car have a taller (20/25 style) radiator with a dashboard 2” wider and ¾” higher at the centre and sides. Hooper features included a patent signal window to the pull-out cylinder shaped parking lights and woodwork from quarter sawn laurel wood. A Stephen Grebel spotlight was mounted to the driver’s side windscreen pillar.

The completed car was delivered on 21st March 1929 when it was finally tested at Hoopers. It was ordered by the Clyde Automobile Co Ltd of Glasgow for their customer James G Reid and registered GE-4310 in 1929. It later passed to a Mr FA Wright of Seremban, Federal Malay States. By 1946 the car was owned by a Mr Mulvany of Wimpole Street, London. It then went through a succession of owners and was based in America between 1971 and 1997.

In the hands of the current owner, significant work has been carried out by reputable Rolls-Royce specialists and the car is in thoroughly good order and ready to go. It is a beautiful car which provokes reaction from onlookers and will certainly provide great enjoyment to its next custodian.