Description
- Stunning period colour combination of 'Sand and Sable'
- Superb Beige hide interior
- Factory LHD example
- A truly outstanding example of a Silver Cloud 11
- Magnificent appearance throughout
The Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud and its Bentley S-Series sibling were to be the end of both Rolls-Royce and Bentley’s Golden Age. They carried on the elaborate pre-war tradition of coach-building with over 130 different body-styles offered during their production run. As well as the rakish Continental models with their sporting edge, there were also dozens of saloon body-styles with offerings available from H. J. Mulliner, James Young, Freestone and Webb, Hooper, Park Ward and numerous others. Despite the many choices available, few designs could truly rival the sheer elegance of John Blatchley’s exceptional Standard Steel design. The factory bodywork made for one of the most beautiful saloons of all time, with its blind rear quarters, subtle swage lines and styling designed to mirror a yacht sailing through the water.
The Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II and its Bentley S2 sibling saw the introduction of Rolls-Royce and Bentley’s legendary V8 engine, a massive step forward for the marques from the pre-war derived Inline 6-Cylinder engine it replaced. In its original carnations the engine’s capacity was 6. 2 Litres before growing to 6. 75 Litres in later Silver Shadows and subsequent models. It, like the 6-Cylinder it replaced would prove to be a beloved engine with production lasting from 1959 to 2020, an absolutely astonishing feat. So beloved was the L-Series V8 that despite Bentley considering to cease production of it in the late 1990s, Volkswagen insisted upon acquisition that they kept it in production.
With an aluminium V8 engine and other standard features such as automatic transmission, power steering, power windows and more, the Cloud II could directly take on American offerings which had been up to that point significantly further ahead in regards to features and equipment. These changes proved successful with the Cloud II being the most successful of all Clouds with 2, 417 produced. They represent a great interim between the I and the III with the classic styling and single-headlights of the I and the larger, more powerful V8 that also featured in the III and despite their success are still rare, especially in such lovely order.
This beautiful Silver Cloud II Standard Steel Saloon was dispatched from the factory to the United States on the SS Pacific Fortune to its first owner, a Mr. Paul Ludmann of Los Angeles, California. Notably, the Ludmanns’ apartment in the Wilshire Terrace building on Wilshire Boulevard (the Cloud’s original delivery address) appeared in a 1959 edition of Architectural Digest which several years later would also feature the Ludmann’s Encino residence, showing that they were quite the stylish couple. It was highly specified with electric windows, full refrigeration, electric aerial, white sided Dunlop tyres, recess in rear centre armrest and 4 Light Tan suitcases. Certainly an evocative environment to be swanning up the boulevards of Beverly Hills and Westwood, the Silver Cloud would have looked equally at home in he 1960s as it would look today.
This Cloud is in the stunning livery Sand over Sable, one of the most famous colour combinations that is synonymous with the Silver Cloud model with the two-tone suiting the lines beautifully. The iconic image of a two-tone Silver Cloud was forever immortalised in one of the most famous photographs of the 1960s, Ormond Gigli’s Girls In the Windows (1960) that depicts 41 colourfully dressed women standing in the windows of an Upper East Side brownstone building in New York with two more women standing in the street below by a Silver Cloud to ours. The photograph is widely considered to be the most commercially valuable photograph as well as one of the most collected and the Silver Cloud is the icing on the cake. Whether you fancy owning a slice of one of the most iconic photographs of all time or simply want a beautiful example of arguably the most elegant saloon of all time, look no further.
Now available for viewing at the DD Classics Dealership in London, please call to book an appointment.
Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the above information but errors may occur. Please check with a salesperson.
