The most desirable Silver Wraiths are the very late cars produced with the 4.9-liter six-cylinder engine, the most powerful of the series, as well as such desirable features as the automatic transmission, power steering, and factory air conditioning. Only a handful of Silver Wraiths incorporated all of these best features, one of which was the car shown here, number LGLW23, as specially ordered in 1957 by the very wealthy Enrique Godoy of Havana, Cuba.

The detailed build specifications for Mr. Godoy’s Silver Wraith record his numerous requests, including blind rear quarters for a more private rear compartment, “increased capacity” air conditioning ducted through the roof, monograms on the rear doors, and the most unusual feature, a factory roof rack, intended for continental touring. The car was also specified with the iconic Lucas P100 headlamps, a favorite feature of the 1930s that were, by the late 1950s, exceedingly rare on any Rolls-Royce.

While Mr. Godoy’s Silver Wraith was being completed, the Cuban Revolution began, and completion and delivery was held up. It was finally delivered to its original owner in Miami, Florida, in June 1960, as the last Silver Wraith to be delivered to a customer. Photographs of the car, as delivered, appear in Lawrence Dalton’s well-known tome on the post-war Rolls-Royces, The Classic Elegance (p. 97).

The car was only lightly used in Miami. The Rolls-Royce Foundation records subsequent owners of the car as Donald and Robert Lehmer of Chula Vista, California, in 1977; Avelina Matamoros of La Mesa, California, in 1978; and Kirk L. Hanigan, also of La Mesa, in 1986.

Acquired by its current owner, a well-known and devoted connoisseur of post-war Rolls-Royces, in the Golden State, the car has been completely restored over the years. It was recently given a bare-metal body repaint in Tudor Grey with a Shell Grey insert; the interior and woodwork were all re-done and are described as show quality. Furthermore, the car has recently undergone a complete mechanical review by Doug Siebert, one of America’s foremost Rolls-Royce experts, and today runs and stops like it was new, with new leather gaiters and a stainless exhaust system being fitted. Given the excellent condition of the chassis, the owner believes that the car’s 49,006 miles at the time of cataloguing are actual, and he notes that it runs and drives smoothly, quietly, and beautifully.

The car is offered with copies of its original build records and Rolls-Royce Foundation documentation, as well as an untouched original tool kit (including both large and small tools, and oilers) and handbook, vanity items in the right rear armrest, and trunk straps for the roof rack (which have never been used).

The most desirable closed body style for the Silver Wraith has always been the H.J. Mulliner Limousine with the distinctive P100 headlamps. Having all of the late Silver Wraith’s desirable features and refinements, as well as a unique specification and fascinating history, the car offered here may well be one of the most significant closed Silver Wraiths ever made.