1965 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III

1965 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III 2 door saloon by James Young

1 of 4 made

One of the prettiest Post War Rolls-Royce designs ever - with only a handful ever being produced, as they were inordinately expensive

James Young coach builders were owned by Jack Barclay Ltd and having worked with Jack's son Victor Barclay we saw many versions of the James Young Continental's from the 1950's and 60's as well as the numerous Phantom V bodied by them too

Jack Barclay had a good eye and in owning James Young he also had the undisputed genius of AF McNeill to head up his design team - remember under his tutelage the young design student John Blatchley progressed from design student to Chief Designer of Gurney Nutting prior to the outbreak of the Second World War

McNeill was Blatchley's teacher, mentor, and friend for many years and after the war Blatchley who later became the Chief Styling Engineer at Crewe - his most prolific period with his most successful design being the Silver Cloud

McNeill continued as Chief Stylist with James Young, which included Gurney Nutting which had been amalgamated into JY

Their designs are widely considered to be some of the most beautiful examples of coachwork in the post war era, regardless of marque, and their quality was without doubt the best of the rest in Rolls-Royce and Bentley coachwork

The shut of their doors is beyond reproach and the lightness of construction is amazing

Chassis No CSC 91B is one of just 4 cars built to Design No SCV150 by James Young in right hand drive on the Cloud III chassis

A further 2 cars were built in left hand drive

Our example is a car we have known for many years now, having looked after her for 10 years or so

She has been part of a serious collection of post war Rolls-Royce and Bentley motorcars

The previous owner was another well established collector of similar cars, and he purchased her from our friends at P & A Wood in 1984 or so

We viewed her in Belgium when she was for sale in the early 2000's before our client snapped her up - the condition then is the same as now, which is incredible really for she has only required regular maintenance throughout and nothing more

So only 2 owners for the last 30 years or so, still in delightful original condition she boasts a full specification, over and above most similar cars in period

Electric sunroof and windows, sundym glass all round and a silver thermos flask hidden behind the rear centre armrest

There are two holders on the back the passenger seat for the cups

Mileage is indicated at 34.000 miles, and although we cannot specifically validate this, we can validate her condition is remarkable, whatever her mileage

A once in a life time opportunity whether for a serious collector or someone with an eye for beautiful things