1949 Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn

Built for a customer in Switzerland, this Silver Dawn delivered new to Garage de l'Athénée in Geneva and sold to a Victor Lyon in the same city. It was fitted with French type headlights, instruments in Km, ‘special springing formula’ suspension, dust proofing with a blind to the boot, no rear numberplate and orange brake lights, so perhaps intended for adventures in a desert climates Switzerland isn’t particularly dusty. It was shipped from Britain on the Folkestone to Boulogne ferry the SS Deal on the 12th of December 1949.

Later it moved to California, probably in 1962 as a title is in the file, bought by Oscar winning Hollywood cinematographer Haskell Wexler, noted for his work on Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, In the Heat of the Night, The Thomas Crown Affair and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

In 2008 it was bought by a Middle Eastern Sheikh and shipped to his palace.

The standard steel body, made by Pressed Steel is beautifully proportioned and styled, the panels are very good, smooth with no damage to the bodywork, and the champagne paint work presents well, looking good for an older paint job. Look closely and there are some cracks and chips around panel joins and edges and the odd mark in the finish.

The imposing grill is in good condition, the chrome slightly dull on top but not pitted and the Spirit of Ecstasy looks superb, while the chrome bumpers are excellent.

In the cabin the wooden dashboard looks very tidy, its lacquer is good over the dark wood and house the original black face, white needle kilometre per hour speedo and dials. Underfoot the carpets are very nice and look fairly recent.

The brown leather seats have some patina, more so in the front and the tops have been sun damaged and cracked.

In the back there are fold down seat back tables and in the rear pillars are wooden framed mirrors, matching the door caps and window frames.

There is rust dust and some flaking in evidence here and there, but most of what we can see appears to have a good amount of structural integrity.

Clearly, you will want to visit the car and see for yourself.

Everything in the engine bay is in its right and proper place and seems to be clean and dry. We have hand-turned the engine, and it spins freely, but we have not tried to start it.

The car doesn’t come with any history or service records.

This car must be registered in the country of your choice and you will need to contact the appropriate vehicle licensing agency for instructions on how to do this.

Any paperwork shown in the gallery is a facsimile and in no way constitutes any kind of licensing or registration certification.

Built in Britain, the Rolls-Royce first travelled to live in Switzerland before finding a home in the USA with a Hollywood Academy Award winner and finally being sold to an owner in the Middle East.

Having travelled the world in its 73 years, it has been on static display for some years so will require recommissioning before returning to the road.

When new the car was supplied in black livery. Later photos show it spent some time silver, before gaining its current champagne hue.

The car is not registered anywhere. It comes with an ORIGINAL California state 'title' document dated 1962. It also has a NOVA letter from HMRC showing all tax/duty is pain in UK.

This is a beautiful and well-preserved example of a rare car, and with a storied past it is all the more interesting.

It does need mechanical recommissioning as it has been on display but a dry indoor climate appears to have been kind to the car.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; we are open weekdays 9am-5pm, to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.