Equipment
4-speed manual, wheel covers, Lester wide whitewalls, Lucas driving lights, fender skirts, division window, rear cabinets and tables.
Condition
#3 Good
Runs and drives well. Flaws not noticeable to passersby. Most common condition.
Sold new to Eli Lily heir Josh Lily and later owned by Yves Saint-Laurent partner Pierre Berge. Tired chrome. Tired but presentable old paint. The left front fender got crunched at some point, severely cracking the paint and bending the bodywork awkwardly. Decent older interior with mostly solid wood and upholstery, but there are a few scuffs in the seats and a few cracks in the wood around the division window. Inherently desirable as a coach built Rolls limo, but no prize, especially if you look at it from the left.
Market commentary
This car sold at Bonhams’ Retromobile in 2009 for $177,663 (Euros 138,000). It hasn’t gotten any better with time, its “celebrity” ownership carries less weight outside of France, and obviously it’s a little harder to sell a car that won’t start. Hooper also isn’t the most sought after coachbuilder on a postwar Rolls, and Bonhams Amelia had a veritable buffet of scruffy RRs and Bentleys on offer this year. Given all that, this price is entirely fair.