| Author | Message | ||
     Chris Browne Prolific User Username: chrisb Post Number: 254 Registered: 2-2010 |
Hello Everyone, Just thought you may be interested to know that we have decided to sell our 1958 Silver Cloud 1 which was the subject of a four and a half year, ground up restoration. We are privileged that Bonhams Auctions are handling the sale for us and the car is to be auctioned on June 24th at the Goodwood Festival of Speed at Goodwood House. This is probably the most prestigious classic car auction in the UK each year so we are hopeful of getting lots of interest from prospective buyers. Below is a sample photograph from the auction catalogue.  Kind regards, Chris | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 529 Registered: 2-2013 |
Smashing beautiful automobile Chris = Good luck with the auction but if it was mine it would never be for sale in my lifetime ! | ||
| Geoff Wootton Grand Master Username: dounraey Post Number: 1286 Registered: 5-2012 |
Chris Thanks for putting this information up. I will be following this with the greatest of interest. Geoff | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 2076 Registered: 4-2003 |
Chris, May the bidders' cheque books flap with gay abandon during the auction...... However, it is sad to see the car leaving your care after all your dedication and work involved in restoring it to its current condition. I second Vladimir's comment 110%. | ||
| Chris Browne Prolific User Username: chrisb Post Number: 255 Registered: 2-2010 |
Vlad, Geoff and David, Many thanks for your kind words. My co-conspirator and I have both had to cope with changes in personal circumstances this year so we decided it was time to move it on. It is a beautiful car but too nice to leave parked anywhere and it is impractical in modern traffic. It was an absolute pleasure to carry out the restoration and we take great pride in our achievement and like to think that our efforts will preserve the car for another sixty years for others to enjoy when it would certainly have been scrapped had we not found it in time. Kindest regards, Chris | ||
| richard george yeaman Grand Master Username: richyrich Post Number: 520 Registered: 4-2012 |
Chris I hope that you and your co conspirator are amply remunerated and that your beautiful car finds a great home. Richard. | ||
| Geoff Wootton Grand Master Username: dounraey Post Number: 1287 Registered: 5-2012 |
Chris I was curious why you said your car is impractical in modern traffic. Is it because the performance is too poor or is it simply the worry of someone crashing in to such a desirable and historic vehicle? I would have thought it would have had no problem in keeping up with the traffic. Geoff | ||
| Chris Browne Prolific User Username: chrisb Post Number: 256 Registered: 2-2010 |
Thank you, Richard. Geoff, I meant that it is not practical to use it in modern day traffic for fear of stone chips, parking dings etc. We would never dare leave it unattended now. The performance is excellent and it will cruise quite happily at 70 - 80mph as it is a very low revving engine - 450 rpm tick over. It holds its own at motorway speeds but is a very big car to manoeuvre in tight spaces and is particularly difficult to reverse because of its size. The view out of the back is not especially good. We will be sorry but happy and relieved to see it go to another home. Kind regards. Chris | ||
| Bob Reynolds Grand Master Username: bobreynolds Post Number: 401 Registered: 8-2012 |
This is the problem with restoring things to perfection. It makes them virtually unusable. Fit only for a museum. I did make a tongue-in-cheek comment in your restoration topic, that the car woud be so perfect that you would be too scared to take it out! Good luck with the sale anyway. | ||
| Chris Browne Prolific User Username: chrisb Post Number: 257 Registered: 2-2010 |
Hello Bob and thanks for your comments, Your words have proved prophetic! We will have our last drive in it (assuming it sells on Friday) when we drive it the 190 miles down to Goodwood on Monday morning. Since we finished the restoration and have done over 1,000 miles in it, we have never seen a drop of rain so the underside and wheel arches are as pristine as the day we finished it. The forecast at the moment is quite good but the good news is that Bonhams have a team of valeters who prepare all the cars before the auction, inside and out but not underneath, presumably! I will, of course, post the results of the sale here always assuming I haven't slit my wrists in disappointment in the meantime! Kind regards, Chris | ||
| Geoff Wootton Grand Master Username: dounraey Post Number: 1288 Registered: 5-2012 |
I hope Chris doesn't mind me putting this link up. It contains an interesting brief history of Chris's car and also many photographs which show the sheer quality of this restoration. http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/23593/lot/255/ Geoff | ||
| Chris Browne Prolific User Username: chrisb Post Number: 258 Registered: 2-2010 |
Hi Geoff, I don't mind in the least - thank you. The more publicity the better. If one of our Australian friends places the winning bid as a result of seeing your post, how much commission will you be expecting ??!! Kind regards, Chris | ||
| Geoff Wootton Grand Master Username: dounraey Post Number: 1291 Registered: 5-2012 |
Hi Chris Lol. Actually, it could go to Australia. They drive on the correct side of the road also. Geoff | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 2080 Registered: 4-2003 |
Unfortunately, the current AUD exchange rate is not conducive to expensive overseas purchases unless one has access to foreign currency income  . | ||
| Bob Reynolds Grand Master Username: bobreynolds Post Number: 403 Registered: 8-2012 |
"It holds its own at motorway speeds but is a very big car to manoeuvre in tight spaces and is particularly difficult to reverse because of its size." This is mostly true of all classic Rolls-Royces. Finding a parking space that you can actually drive into and open the doors is a nightmare, at least in the UK. I often wonder why RR had to make all their cars so big. Size doesn't equal luxury. I am sure there would have been a good market for a medium-size Rolls-Royce with all the luxury of the larger version. | ||
| Carl Heydon Frequent User Username: car Post Number: 92 Registered: 2-2004 |
Hence my preference for MkVI. Pre war looks, post war performance in the size of 244 Volvo! | ||
| Chris Browne Prolific User Username: chrisb Post Number: 260 Registered: 2-2010 |
Hello everyone, Drove the Silver Cloud down to Bonhams at Goodwood yesterday. We had intended to take it down on Monday but the weather was awful. Thankfully yesterday was warm , sunny and dry and the journey was pleasant and uneventful. I have attached two photos, one of the car in the collecting area and one as it was driven into the auction marquee. We are going back down on Friday for the auction.   Kind regards, Chris | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 2085 Registered: 4-2003 |
I feel the last image shows the car is not happy about its impending fate - better the custodian she knows than one she knows nothing about..... | ||
| Geoff Wootton Grand Master Username: dounraey Post Number: 1294 Registered: 5-2012 |
No worries Chris - anyone who pays the price your car is expected to get will treat it like a treasure. Geoff | ||
| Chris Browne Prolific User Username: chrisb Post Number: 261 Registered: 2-2010 |
Hello everyone, To bring you up to date, our Silver Cloud 1 did not sell at the Bonhams auction at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. We thought we were in the right auction at the right venue but the sale was heavily weighted towards top end sports cars - Ferraris, Aston Martins and Maseratis etc. all of which sold strongly. Disappointed that it failed to sell but it made the 360 mile round trip without any dramas and is now safely back home. If anyone out there in RROCA land is interested in purchasing an award winning Cloud 1, I know exactly where you can find one! Kind regards, Chris | ||
| Paul Yorke Grand Master Username: paul_yorke Post Number: 1557 Registered: 6-2006 |
That's a shame . . . Sort of?? Wink. I guess most of the RR&B people were at Burghley House. Auctions are always a tricky call. | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 2090 Registered: 4-2003 |
Chris - sorry about the outcome but my philosophy has always been "everything happens for a reason". Now to look for a suitable auction frequented by traditional classic car enthusiasts who appreciate quality and value and not the "nouveau riche" seeking bragging rights. I am somewhat surprised that Bonhams may not have suggested an alternative auction given their experience with auctions of this type. | ||
| Christian S. Hansen Prolific User Username: enquiring_mind Post Number: 284 Registered: 4-2015 |
David... Maybe I am a jadded skeptic, but my experience with the auction houses, and the nature of big business in general, is that "they just want the money" and will only turn a listing down because it is beneath their dignity (i.e. value too low) not because it may be inappropriate. After all, if it sells, they make a commission from both buyer and seller, and if it does not sell, they make money from the seller from both listing fees and reserve fees, so they are in a "can't lose" position. I'm just saying. | ||
| Bob Reynolds Grand Master Username: bobreynolds Post Number: 405 Registered: 8-2012 |
Might we be allowed to know what the bidding went up to?  We see a Fiat 500 in the photo above. Hardly a top end sports car.  | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 2094 Registered: 4-2003 |
Regular contributor Christopher Carnley has sent me a messsage and photo of an Aston Martin to illustrate the type of car he cosiders is best-suited to the Goodwood auction: "Re the recent 2016 Bonhams Auction, this Aston Martin 1949 team car made £679,100. ! Perhaps you could post it for me to show the type of interest at the Festival of Speed. Several Rolls-Royce and Bentleys did not sell, either because they were priced out of the market, or that it was the wrong venue. A Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud 1standard saloon would never attract that interest even at Burghley, however had it been converted into a DHC, then it would have done much better. I am expecting Russell Rolls next week."  | ||
| Chris Browne Prolific User Username: chrisb Post Number: 262 Registered: 2-2010 |
Hi everyone, Since I returned from the Goodwood auction at which the Cloud did not sell, I have been through all the results and found that out of 89 cars offered for sale, 36 did not sell and the star of the show, a 1966 Ferrari, did not reach its reserve of £1.6 million which made me feel better. I have come to the conclusion that it all happened on the wrong day as my fellow Brits voted to leave the EU and all of a sudden, potential buyers were hanging onto their cash. Kind regards. Chris | ||
| Bob Reynolds Grand Master Username: bobreynolds Post Number: 408 Registered: 8-2012 |
So, according to the above, the problems were: Wrong venue, wrong time, and wrong car! Never mind, it will only increase in value.  |
