The 40/50 HP Silver Ghost, which is often followed by the period motoring press’s epithet “the best car in the world”, would prove a linchpin in Rolls-Royce earning its reputation for engineering excellent and outstanding quality. At the heart of the design was Henry Royce’s powerful side-valve inline-six engine that was both immensely smooth and enduring. As a result, the model simultaneously offered luxury to the elite and great dependability when repurposed and armour-plated for use during World War I.

Chassis number 1861 is believed to have been ordered originally by famed coachbuilder Hooper. But, according to the annotated copy of the factory data cards, it was redirected to Barker. Rolls-Royce’s recommended bodywork supplier famously crafted The Silver Ghost, chassis 60551. This rerouting came as part of an agreed swap with chassis 1937, which would receive a landaulet body by Hooper. Similarly, the intended first owner for this example was John Milne, until the order card was further amended—plausibly due to Mr Milne wanting a car with an earlier delivery date. As such, “XH 7396” offered here was eventually bought new by serial Rolls-Royce owner Mr A W Gilmour of London.

He kept the car through to October 1919, at which point chassis 1861 was acquired by Mrs E O Lloyd of Kent. As listed in John Fasal and Bryan Goodman’s The Edwardian Rolls-Royce, chassis 1861 is thought to have originally sported a limousine body. Around this time, however, the Barker coachwork was modified to its current cabriolet configuration.

From August 1923, the 40/50 HP Silver Ghost was owned by Piers Alexander Hamilton Edgcumbe, the 5th Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, who served during the Boer War. After spells with subsequent owners in Plymouth, Kingston upon Thames, and Godalming in Surrey, the Silver Ghost was bought in February 1955 by Mr Michael Chapman for the sum of £75. He was based in the United Kingdom at the time while working for Vauxhall Motors in Luton. Mr Chapman reckoned that the Rolls-Royce would be ideal to keep his stepfather, Mr G A Huddlestone of Natal in South Africa, busy in retirement.

Mr Huddlestone clearly had a lot of affection for chassis 1861, a car he would refer to as “Charlie”. Following a restoration, “with the paint still wet on the wheels”, he entered the Silver Ghost into a 1,200-mile tour from Durban to Cape Town before contesting the 1965 running of the FIVA-organised rally in New Zealand during his 35 years of ownership.

The car was listed for sale in The Automobile magazine in late-1990, with noted marque expert and long-time Rolls-Royce Owners Club member Mark Tidy becoming the new custodian from December of that year. A resident of Horsham in West Sussex, Mr Tidy embarked upon a restoration of the straight-six engine, three-speed manual gearbox, and rear axle. The plastic roof commissioned by Mr Huddlestone was replaced by a leather item, the front seats were retrimmed, and the car painted in its current burgundy hue.

Again the Silver Ghost would prove to be an ideal cruiser, with chassis 1861 then participating in the 1994 running of the Round Britain Rally, which included a return to the Rolls-Royce’s home city of Derby. Following a stint with a subsequent owner, the Silver Ghost was acquired by the vendor in December 2000.

Featuring period Barker coachwork, this cabriolet is wonderfully configurable. Its enclosed convertible design, folding windscreen, and division window can equally separate or bring together front occupants with those in the rear, where the occasional folding chairs can face or oppose the fawn seat bench. The Rolls-Royce is further complemented by two toolboxes, a tool roll, and a vanity kit.

A wonderful companion for long-distance touring, chassis 1861 would make for a welcome entrant into a variety of Rolls-Royce and Silver Ghost events in the United Kingdom and further afield.