1939 Rolls-Royce Wraith 25/30 HP Convertible by Thrupp & Maberly

1939 Rolls-Royce Wraith 25/30 HP Convertible by Thrupp & Maberly - Exceptional provenance - Several famous owners - Preserved in excellent condition - The only Wraith with four-door ‘All-Weather’ bodywork by Thrupp & Maberly 1939 Rolls-Royce Wraith 25/30 HP Convertible by Thrupp & Maberly The Rolls-Royce Wraith was the final evolution of the 25/30 HP range before the Second World War. One exceptional feature makes this example stand out among the 492 cars made: it is the only one fitted with an ‘All-Weather’ body with four doors and a hood, built by the prestigious London coachbuilder Thrupp & Maberly. This elegant body, allowing four passengers to enjoy travelling in the open air, whilst providing protection against bad weather, endows this Wraith with a particularly refined presence. The car was bought new on 25 February 1939 by R.C. Sherriff, a British writer and playwright who became famous for his play Journey’s End, devoted to the experience of soldiers during the First World War, which was adapted several times for the cinema. Sherriff went on to a prolific career as an author, scriptwriter and novelist. On 1 November 1954, the Rolls-Royce changed hands and was bought by Benjamin Britten, a key figure in twentieth-century British music. Three years later, it was acquired by Elleston Trevor, a particularly prolific writer who wrote under several pseudonyms, notably as Adam Hall for his spy novels. Several of his works were adapted for the cinema. The car took part in the Monaco Concours d’Elégance in May 1962, and the original programme for the event is included in the car’s history file. In 1964, Trevor put the car up for sale from an address at Golfe-Juan, in the Alpes-Maritimes, where it was registered as 440 GZ 06, an interesting testament to its time in France. The Wraith then crossed the Atlantic and was bought by Martin Zanger, in Massachusetts. Zanger was particularly fond of the car and had it sent back to England for a full restoration. At the time, it had only 2602 miles (4187km) on the clock. The car was then shipped to Boston on 16 March 1971. In 1986, it joined the collection of Louis Wright, the owner of Wright Industries, a company specialising in the oil sector, and a knowledgeable lover of classic cars. Regularly used for parades of classic cars and scrupulously maintained by Wright's regular mechanic, it was sold with the rest of his collection following his death in 1990. Its sixth owner was none other than Robert Merrifield, the American biochemist and recipient of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1984. An enthusiastic Rolls-Royce collector, he was very active in the Rolls-Royce Owners’ Club of America. When he died in 2006, the Wraith was acquired by Peter Glyn Morris, who had taken over the publisher Dalton Watson, and he kept the car until 2009. A lover of exceptional Rolls-Royces, Thierry Dehaeck bought the car in 2012, through Peter Kumar in New York. Since then, the Wraith has had a special place in his collection, where it is the oldest car. It is kept alongside his other extremely interesting Rolls-Royces, in very well preserved condition. Besides its exceptional pedigree and absolutely unique bodywork, the history of the car is supported by a wealth of documentation. It will also be sold with a Heco scale model, of which only 49 units were made. The combination of a Rolls-Royce 25/30 HP chassis, a one-off body by Thrupp & Maberly and such a remarkable succession of owners makes this an especially interesting example for collectors. This Wraith could equally well be entered in the top concours d’élégance, be driven on family outings or take part in the leading events for pre-war cars. Inherently rare, with unique coachwork and a remarkable history, this Thrupp & Maberly-bodied Wraith represents an extremely distinguished collector's item, and it will not fail to command attention in any collection.

Stima:€120,000

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