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1922 Rolls Royce 20
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1922 Rolls Royce 20
Specifications
Description
The Rolls-Royce Twenty built between 1922 and 1929 was Rolls-Royce's "small car" for the 1920s and was produced alongside the 40/50 Silver Ghost and the successor to the 40/50, the Phantom.
Quickly nicknamed the Baby Rolls Royce, it was designed to allow the company’s customers to drive their own cars, particularly in city traffic, where the compact car was certainly more at ease than the huge Silver Ghost cars.
It was truly the first production Rolls Royce compact car and was also perfectly suited to long journeys.
The first generations of the Twenty are identifiable by the radiator flaps being placed horizontally rather than vertically, as was then the norm at Rolls Royce.
As for the engine, although the brand remained faithful to the six-cylinder engine, it decided to study a new engine, the first with overhead valves, with a displacement of 3,127 cm3, consisting of a single cylinder block with a detachable cylinder head and a single ignition.
The chassis was shorter than traditional Rolls Royce cars and had rigid front and rear axles suspended by semi-elliptical springs.
Braking on this model was provided only on the rear wheels before the introduction of drum brakes with mechanical servo on all four wheels in 1925. The Twenty was later equipped with hydraulic shock absorbers.
The driver, not the chauffeur anymore, has a three-speed gearbox with the gear change initially placed in the centre of the passenger compartment, before being replaced in 1925 by a four-speed gearbox with the traditional gear change to the right of the driver. The driver could expect to reach a maximum speed of 97 km/h.
As was customary at the time, Rolls Royce manufactured only the chassis and mechanics of the Twenty. Indeed, customers had the choice of commissioning the UK’s most famous coachbuilders to build a dedicated body. At the time, the big names were Barker, Park Ward, Thrupp & Maberly, Mulliner, Hopper, Kellner and Gurney Nutting.
The Twenty was produced in 2,940 units between 1922 and 1929. It became a mainstay of the company and was replaced by the 20/25 and then the 25/30 4.3 litre in 1936.
ABOUT THIS CAR
- Chassis#: GF41
- Engine: G693
- Original Certificate Of Registration Available
- NZ New - First Owner HW White
- This car is in very nice condition with just the right amount of patina. Its truly beautiful inside out.
- 4-door saloon body type
- RWD (rear-wheel drive), manual 3-speed gearbox
- Characteristic dimensions: outside length: 4521 mm / 178 in, width: mm / in, wheelbase: 3277 mm / 129 in
- Top speed: 105 km/h (65 mph) (declared by factory)
Aimed at the professional segment of the middle-class owner-drivers such as doctors, dentists, solicitors and moderately successful businessmen, the Twenty cost about 40% less than a Ghost, yet still met the same exacting standards of design, materials and workmanship.
In the year of its launch in 1922, it had a chassis price of 1,100 (pounds). The Twenty was conceived and executed with typical attention to detail, object, being as stated by Royce: 'to spend as much money in the construction as can be done wisely, but not unnecessarily'.
The Twenty had been built to carry open and enclosed bodies with up to six seats, but with a light body it was capable of what Royce called a high road speed. In 1922 40 mph was considered a fast cruising speed, yet the Twenty was capable of just over 60 mph.
Ongoing development of the car, a process the company used on most models, eventually upped the top speed to over 70 mph.
Henry Royce's biographer, Sir Max Pemberton, raved about his Twenty. 'The late Lord Northcliffe once said to me that as an instrument of advertising British efficiency in industry, the Rolls-Royce car was unique. When I reflect upon the performance of the 'Twenty' I have driven now for six years, I am wholly in accord with this opinion. It is surely one of the world's two great cars. The other is the 'Phantom'.
Car will be sold with a new WOF and twelve month registration if sold in New Zealand.
SHIPPING CAN BE ARRANGED FOR OUR OVERSEAS CLIENTS & TRANSPORT THROUGHOUT NEW ZEALAND CAN BE ORGANISED ON BUYER'S BEHALF.
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DISCLAIMER (PLEASE READ)
NOTIFICATION AS TO NATURE OF GOODS IN TERMS OF THE CONSUMER GUARANTEES ACT 1993
Waimak Classic Cars Ltd is a New Zealand registered company and accepts that the vehicle being sold must be of “acceptable quality” in terms of section 7 of the New Zealand Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (the Act) having regard to “the nature of the goods”.
Waimak Classic Cars is not aware of any specific defects with the vehicle, however (a) such a vehicle being a classic vehicle may have mechanical breakdowns, electrical failures at inconvenient times and maintenance costs being part of and parcel of ownership of a classic vehicle; (b) reliability is a combination of the particular nature of the classic vehicle, how it is being driven, how it has been maintained, and to a certain extent luck; (c) because of the age of the vehicle, and its propensity to rust, it is likely that the vehicle would have been fully or partially restored, or at least repainted at some point in its life, maybe even more than once. Waimak Classic Cars does not know, and cannot give advice on how good any restoration work on the vehicle had been.
The Purchaser acknowledges that the vehicle is being sold as a classic car; that in terms of the Act and the nature of the goods, the vehicle is an old car, bike or boat, that may have visual and hidden faults, unlike a new motor vehicle.
The Purchaser is encouraged to personally fully inspect the vehicle and also to have the vehicle inspected, and fully assessed by an experienced, independent, specialist garage - before committing to purchase. While the Purchaser is entitled to rely on statements given by Waimak Classic Cars as being correct, where goods such as vehicles are concerned, with so many moving parts and rust being an issue with older vehicles; a Purchaser who chooses not to seek independent professional assistance when assessing the quality of what they propose to buy is considered as buying at their own risk, and if the vehicle then turns out to be of less than the represented quality, or not up to the Purchaser's expectation, or in the Purchaser opinion not fit for purpose; then the Purchaser is considered to have contributed to their own loss and should not expect any refunds or betterment from Waimak Classic Cars.
The Purchaser acknowledges that they have read and fully understand this notification and the nature of a car which is many years old.
For more information about this vehicle, please contact us Monday to Friday between 9:00am and 6:00pm (New Zealand Standard Time) on +64 (0) 3 310-6485 / +64 (0) 274 990-020. Alternatively, you may email us at [email protected] anytime.
PLEASE NOTE: Waimak Classic Cars is Not a car yard dealer type of operation. As a result, we do not operate through fixed opening hours and viewing is By Appointment Only.