A 1911 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost is set to continue auction success for the marque on September 1
A matching numbers Rolls Royce Silver Ghost is set to appear at the upcoming Brooklands Historics auction on September 1.
2012 has been great for Rolls Royce and classic cars in general
The car's sale follows an impressive year for vintage models of the British marque - "The Corgi" sold for 4.7m at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed to become the most valuable Rolls Royce ever sold at auction, and a 1936 Phantom III 3-position drop head coupe, which now stands as the highest-priced of its kind, achieved 1.3m in June.
Another impressive sale came from Bette Davis' Phantom I Playboy Roadster, which sold within estimate for 115,000 last month, boosted by its amazingHollywood heritage.
The magnificent two-seater at auction was built in 1911, and was originally fitted with a Laudalet body that suggests it was intended to be chauffeur driven. This seems highly likely, as its first owner was Sir Adolph Tuck, heir to the Raphael Tuck & Sons postcard fortune.
It was later rebodied with a doctor's coup by Rippon Brothers, one of the oldest coach building companies in the world - its founder, Walter Rippon, is noted as the coach builder for Queen Elizabeth I in 1564.
The car has alsorecently undergone a 12 month restoration, which has left it in stunning condition. It is expected to make between 450,000 and 550,000 in the sale, as one of the auction's highest-selling lots.
The successes of this year's auctions for Rolls Royce are indicative of the strengthof the classic cars market. According to the HAGI Top 50 Index, which tracks the prices of the leading classic cars, values have grown by 10.33% since the start of the year, with Ferrari and Porsche performing well as usual.
Check back with Paul Fraser Collectibles regularly for the latest on classic car collecting and the results from this exciting sale.