The finest model produced by one of France’s greatest automobile manufacturers, the Hispano-Suiza J12 is unrivalled for its smoothness, outstanding power, and excellent road manners. It was, quite simply, one of the most modern 12-cylinder automobiles produced prior to World War II. Very seldom do examples of this treasured model become available for sale.

Chassis number 13043 was one of two J12s delivered to India, and was in fact ordered by one of His Highness Dharmendrasinhji Lakhajirajsinhji, 13th Thakore Saheb of Rajkot, one of the most famous royal enthusiasts in an era when most every leader of a princely state had an impressive stable of fine coachbuilt creations. He had ascended in 1930 at the death of his father, and spent the decade of his brief tenure acquiring some truly fabulous automobiles, most prominently the Rolls-Royce Phantom II long known as “The Star of India.”

The Rajkot J12 was bodied in elaborate fashion by de Villars, the Parisian coachbuilder established by American banking scion Frank Jay Gould and led by Gould’s son-in-law, the Swiss playboy and polo player Baron Roland de Graffenreid de Villars. De Villars was, appropriate to its heritage, a very small boutique firm that built only the finest creations, in very small number and at utterly enormous cost. Each product of their works was known for its exacting build quality and extraordinarily beautiful, well-considered design. Indeed, in a time when most four-door cabriolets were heavy and burdensome in line, the Rajkot J12 was well-proportioned from top to bottom, with the top up or down. Its highly detailed fitment included a touch seen on several automobiles of the Maharajas: a set of parking lights in two different colors, lit depending upon whom was riding in the Hispano-Suiza—red for the Thakore Saheb, or green for his spouse.

An article by Manvendra Singh Barwani and Hans Veenenbos, included within the history file, indicates that the car was delivered by the factory on 28 May 1937 to Garage Autec, and exported to India that August. It would remain in that country for the next 30 years.

During the early 1960s the car was exported from India to England through the auspices of prolific broker Chris Renick, who shortly sold it to James Leake of Muskogee, Oklahoma. Remembered today as the founder of his eponymous auction firm, Mr. Leake was very much a true collector and enthusiast, as well, and had a particularly avid yen for cars of the Maharajas. During its longtime Leake ownership the car was pictured in Johnnie Green’s well-known reference work, Hispano-Suiza, where its elegant lines and attractive top construction were commented upon, with the note that it was “one of a vast collection of the world’s premier cars [but] considered by the owner as his finest.” The car was shown by Mr. Leake in 1981 at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, apparently receiving high enough favor that it was honored with 2nd in Class despite being an Exhibition Only entrant. One assumes that the judges agreed with his estimation.

When much of the Leake private collection was dispersed at auction in 1987, the J12 was acquired by another prolific collector, longtime Classic Car Club of America and concours competitor, Noel Thompson of New Jersey. Mr. Thompson had the car freshly restored in its present, striking two-tone mauve and lilac livery—chosen, as with many of the Thompson automobiles, by his wife. Afterward, it was awarded 1st in Class at the Meadowbrook Concours in 1989, achieved its National Senior First Prize in AACA competition and a Classic Car Club of America Senior award, and appeared at the CCCA Museum Experience. It was eventually sold directly from the Thompson collection to the present owners in early 1991.

The Hispano-Suiza has been only selectively displayed since, most prominently returning to Pebble Beach in 2012 for exhibition as part of the special featured class of Cars of the Maharajas. Well-preserved within the collection, it is still in very attractive overall condition, with only minor signs of age and use found throughout as can be expected for the age of its restoration. It is easily one of the most appealing Hispano-Suizas offered at market in recent memory, and all the more extraordinary for being a J12—the mightiest of marque, and one of the finest of all Classics, so seldom found on the open market, and more seldom still with such a beautiful body.