1956 | Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn

With just 56,000 miles from new, this may be the lowest mileage Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn in Britain. It is the very last of eleven cars with this body built by Royal coachbuilders Hooper & Co. The model began as the Bentley MKVI in April 1946. In the period of austerity which immediately followed World War II, Rolls-Royce Motors decided to build most of their production with the more discreet and understated Bentley badge. It was their first model to be produced with a ‘standard steel' body. All previous models had been chassis only with bodies completed by independent coachbuilders including Freestone & Webb, James Young, H.J. Mulliner, Park Ward and Hooper & Co.

In 1949 they decided to produce a Rolls-Royce version - the Silver Dawn which was only available for export, principally to the U.S.A. It was first sold on the home market in 1953, and most examples had the factory-built steel body, almost identical to the Bentley R Type. This rare example was built by Hooper & Co with the ‘Empress Line' styling - often seen on Daimler models. It was the automotive equivalent of Haute Couture in ladies fashion. With an English ash frame and hand-crafted body, this was the pinnacle of the coachbuilders art. Only the finest woods and leather hides were used in its construction. The standard steel Silver Dawn saloon cost £4700 new in 1955. A hand-built body like this did not come cheaply, taking the cost to almost £6700 - over three times the average house price in Northern England in 1955!

The car has its original 4.5 litre straight-six engine, four speed automatic transmission, electric front windows, servo-assisted brakes, adjustable ride control and valve radio. The ultra-smooth luxury saloon was amongst the models that earned Rolls-Royce Motors a reputation as ‘The Best Car in the World'. This example is finished in two-tone Velvet/Sage Green.

The car comes with an amazing history file chronicling its ownership from new. With just one owner from 1999-2021 there is a £70,000 maintenance history with a top RREC-approved marque specialist which evidences the superb maintenance of this rare and beautiful Rolls-Royce motor car. Since then, the Rolls Royce has been personally owned by our Founding Director before coming into the ownership of one of our regular customers. This is a wonderful Rolls Royce and one we know incredibly well.

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