Beschreibung:

The size and grandeur of the car... deceive one about the performance which would do justice to many a car of more sporting pretensions. The finish, both in detail and the broader sense of equipment and trim, is superb.' - Motor magazine on the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III. As well as the factory-bodied cars, bespoke creations from James Young and the recently merged firm of H J Mulliner, Park Ward Ltd (by this time Rolls-Royce-owned) continued to be available on the 'Cloud III chassis for those discerning enthusiasts wealthy enough to afford them. Indeed, as the factory did not offer a convertible or drophead coupé, a coachbuilt car was the only option if one's preference was Rolls-Royce-style fresh air motoring. First introduced in 1958, H J Mulliner's drophead coupé was the most successful of its type, lasting into 1963; more modern 'straight-through wing' designs became the preferred style thereafter. Of the latter, by far the most striking were those bodied by Park Ward. This design by Norwegian Vilhelm Koren, with its influential continuous front-to-rear wing line, had originated on the Bentley S2 Continental in 1959 but did not become available on non-Continental models (both Bentley and Rolls-Royce) until after the arrival of the Silver Cloud III and S3 in 1962. These 'Chinese Eye' models - so called because of their slanting headlamp nacelles - constituted the majority of coachbuilt variants completed between 1962 and 1966. The final batch of coachbuilt Silver Cloud III (and Bentley Continental) rolling chassis was produced between September and December 1965 while the factory waited to bring the newly announced Silver Shadow range on stream. 'LCSC65C' is one of this final batch of 111 cars, all of which were numbered in the 'CSC' series and bodied in straight-through wing, 'Chinese Eye' style. It is one of 49 left-hand drive cars and was delivered new to New York City, USA, where its first owner was one George Davidoff. Acquired by the current (third) owner in May 2009, the car had previously formed part of a prestigious private collection in Monaco and had covered only 52,000 miles at that time. 'LCSC65C' is finished in white with black leather interior and black Everflex top while boasting the convenience of original factory-fitted air conditioning and electric windows. The car comes with full service history from new, including recent bills from Rolls-Royce in Monaco, and is supplied with its original sales invoice and copy build sheets. One of the last of the truly coachbuilt Rolls-Royce convertibles and a highly original example of this very rare and highly desirable motor car. La dimension et la grandeur de la voiture ... sont trompeurs sur ses vraies performances qui feraient justice de celles de nombreuses automobiles prétendument sportives. La finition à la fois dans les détails et dans la générosité de l'équipement et des garnissages est magnifique. » Magazine Motor à propos de la Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III. Parallèlement aux voitures à carrosserie d'usine, des créations spéciales de James Young et de la firme H J Mulliner, Park Ward Ltd (contrôlée par Rolls-Royce) continuèrent d'être disponibles sur le châssis Cloud III pour les connaisseurs fanatiques de la marque assez riches pour se les offrir. En fait, l'usine ne proposait pas de décapotable, la seule possibilité étant d'opter pour une carrosserie spéciale faite à l'unité si l'on voulait profiter de la conduite au grand air d'une Rolls-Royce. Introduit pour la première fois en 1958, le cabriolet ou drophead coupé de H J Mulliner fut le plus réussi dans le genre et vécut jusqu'en 1963. Les créations avec « aile continue » plus modernes furent préférées par la suite. Parmi ces dernières, les carrosseries de Park Ward furent de loin les plus frappantes. Ce dessin du Norvégien Vilhelm Koren, avec sa ligne d'aile ininterrompue courant de l'avant à l'arrière qui eut tant d'influence, était né sur la Bentley S2 Continental en 1959, mais il ne fut proposé su