Having been sat in a farmyard on the outskirts of Sheffield for over 30 years, as our photo shows, it looks like it has just been pulled out from the bottom of a lake.
Classic car fans often go barmy for classic ‘barn finds’ – discoveries of rare cars they can lovingly restore as a project after being hidden away covered in dust and cobwebs and much more for many years.
This is not so much barnyard find as farmyard find.
The auction house says the current owner of this Silver Shadow, a farmer, bought it from an insurance company in 1982 “when it was reported stolen and later found in a shipping container on the south coast. He ran it for a short time until parking up in 1984 without even realising at the time he was never to drive it again, it then lay abandoned until now”.
The Silver Shadow was produced from 1965-76, with the Silver Shadow II from 1977-80. According to Wikipedia, “Initially, the model was planned to be called ‘Silver Mist’, a natural progression from its predecessor Silver Cloud. The name was changed to ‘Silver Shadow’ after realising that ‘Mist’ is the German word for manure, rubbish, or dirt”.
Well, this example fits the original thought, given its coating.
In somewhat better condition, two Rolls Royce Silver Cloud I cars dating from the 1950s feature in the Charterhouse auction in Shepton Mallet on February 12. One from 1956 is estimated at £25,000-28,000 while the 1957 model is guided at £29,000-31,000.
New for 1955, the Silver Cloud replaced the Silver Dawn. The Silver Cloud I would remain in production until the V8 engine S2 was introduced in 1958.
From an earlier era, Holloway’s, the Banbury auction house, has a couple of 1920s Rollers on offer in its February 18 sale. A 1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom II with barrel-sided tourer coachwork by Wilkinson of Derby is estimated at £140,000-160,000, while a 1926 Rolls-Royce 20hp with open touring coachwork by Barker is guided at £70,000-80,000.
Fancy a ‘modern classic’ Rolls-Royce? Try a 2001 Rolls-Royce corniche convertible sport stourer at Holloway’s, estimated at £90,000-100,000.
Meanwhile, on February 18 auction house Coys is offering a 1937 Rolls Royce Phantom III by Park Ward, formerly from the Collection of Sir James Cayzer, estimated at £115,000-125,000. Coys' third sale of the year forms the inaugural auction at Olympia in west London. With a selection of over 70 great entries, the auction forms part of the Olympia Historic Automobile Fair.
More Sheffield finds
Sheffield Auction Gallery has estimated this 1984 Lotus Eclat Excel with 33,000 miles displayed on the odometer, which had been hiding away under a thick layer of dust since 1989, at £1000-1250 in the February 24 sale.
When Sheffield Auction Gallery specialist Valuer Ben Johnson was called to appraise the Rolls Royce he was told they had another vehicle languishing in a barn. This time it was a 1984 Lotus Eclat Excel with 33,000 miles displayed on the odometer, which had been hiding away under a thick layer of dust since 1989. It is estimated at £1000-1250.
Other vintage and classic vehicles in the Sheffield auction include a 1971 VW Beetle Beach Buggy (estimate £5000-6000), 1936 Standard Flying Nine Saloon (£300-500), and 1933 and 1934 Austin Tens (£3000-5000 each).
