Beschreibung:

Colour: Silver over black bodywork with dark red interior The reputation of the Rolls-Royce marque was founded on the success of the Silver Ghost. Debuting in 1906, it went into production the following year and remained so for nearly two decades. After World War One, with high demand in America the company looked to overcome high import duties by establishing their own assembly plant there. In 1919, an existing plant in Springfield Massachusetts was acquired and production began the following year. For the US market coachwork was more standardized to elegant, named designs, the Berwick being one such style. Of the 1701 Silver Ghosts built in the Springfield, Mass. works it is believed that 25 Berwick saloons were constructed, all by Rolls-Royce Custom Coachworks. Build sheets confirm that this car was delivered new 19th April 1926 to Charles Blyth of San Mateo, California. Its subsequent history not known until purchased by Hill & Vaughn in 1974 when bought for the collection of Dr. Cooperman. It was sold by him at Christie’s in Los Angeles on 21 February 1979 to Barbra Streisand. It has changed hands two further times through the same house, arriving with the present owner in 2002. The car was acquired with the sole intention of completing the 2003 Alpine Trial retrospective, he immediately had a thorough technical report carried out by world renowned specialists P. & A. Wood. An exhaustive 5 page document of recommendations resulted, all of which were attended to. The cost of this work was some £125,000. At this time a Kennedy mechanically operated overdrive was fitted. The car successfully completed the Alpine Tour, being driven to and from the event, which in addition to the event itself amounted to 3,050 miles. It has continued to be maintained by Woods since. The Rolls presents tidily, balancing a good quality generally older restoration with some cosmetic tidying during its recent work. The upholstery trim has at some time been refurbished in dark red vinyl, though this also has considerable age to it and therefore some patina. The original records state that S128ML wore a Salamanca Permanent (Town Car) body, by Willoughby for Rolls-Royce Custom Coachworks, though today and certainly for a very long time it has worn the current Berwick Sedan coachwork that it does today. The more versed in the American coachwork will note that the line of this particular Berwick saloon has a lower profile than the original early designs for the model. At this time it is believed that the Berwick’s roofline was lowered during the 1930s, when and by whom is not recorded, it is however worth noting that period marketing by Rolls-Royce offered the option of streamlining bodywork, since primarily it was styling, rather than the robust mechanicals that became outdated, this has lead the owner to believe that it is quite possible that the revision of the bodywork may even have been factory work. It is supported by documentation, including copies of Springfield sales cards, copy of auction sales catalogues, bills from P&A Wood for recent work and V5 registration document, with current MoT and Road Tax. 1926 Rolls-Royce 40/50CV Berwick Sedan Carrosserie réalisée par Rolls-Royce Custom Coachworks (Carrosseries Spéciales Rolls-Royce) Châssis no. S128 ML Carrosserie bicolore argent et noir avec intérieur rouge foncé La réputation de la marque Rolls-Royce s’est forgée sur le succès de la Silver Ghost. Présentée en 1906, elle a été mise en production l’année suivante et proposée en l’état pendant près de vingt ans. Après le Première Guerre Mondiale, poussée par une forte demande en provenance d’Amérique, la société a cherché à maîtriser les fortes taxes d’importation en installant une chaîne de montage sur place. En 1919, elle a fait l’acquisition d’une chaîne existante à Springfield dans l’état du Massachusetts et lance la production l’année suivante. Pour le marché américain, la carrosserie était plus soignée avec des lignes élégantes portant un n