While Sir F. Henry Royce had been thinking about a smaller car to complement the 40/50 HP Silver Ghost for some years, due to World War II he did not get around to building one until 1919. Two prototypes later, the 20 HP, better known as the “Twenty,” made its introduction and was officially announced in October of 1922.

More cost-conscious than its larger sibling and more “American” in design, it incorporated design cues employed on the opposite side of the Atlantic, most prominently overhead valves and an engine and gearbox mounted in-unit, saving the expense of a sub-frame. It was also the first Rolls-Royce to feature a centrally mounted gear lever for its gearbox, at least initially; it was moved to the right of the driver at the time that a fourth gear was added in 1925. Another American inspiration was the choice of horizontal versus vertical radiator shutters. This also changed, beginning in 1928.

Thus, the final “Twenties” featured both the distinctive “Baby Phantom I” styling and the desirability of a fourth gear for greater flexibility in driving. They are the most desirable today, and the car offered here is one of these examples.

According to Rolls-Royce Foundation records, chassis number GX03 was sent to Park Ward on June 28, 1929, for fitment of its original coachwork, an enclosed limousine body, to the order of H.T. Turner, Esq. Sometime later, in the 1950s, the car was sent to Alpe & Saunders, a prominent hearse manufacturer in Kew, Surrey, between 1937 and the mid-1960s. Alpe & Saunders was responsible for this unique and stylish shooting brake body, essentially a comfortable British station wagon intended for carrying passengers and dogs on the hunt. This body style was readily identified in its era as the favored estate vehicle of the landed gentry, a purpose for which this car would still be ideal today.

Unique and certainly unusual, this “Rolls-Royce for the hunt” would be the perfect addition to any collection needing a bit of high-class utility!