A barn-find 1933 Rolls-Royce that has been stashed in a Sydney Eastern Suburbs garage since the early 1980s and has not been started in more than 30 years, will be one of the highlights of Shannons Sydney auction on March 12.
The Rolls-Royce Phantom II Limousine with its stately Thrupp & Maberly coachwork, was built for American socialite Lady Rachel Workman, who married the Scottish founder of the British India Corporation, Sir Alexander MacRobertson.
It remained in the United Kingdom until 1969, when it was imported to Australia by its late, subsequent Welsh owner, still wearing its original Scottish number plates – ALB 900 and coachwork.
Due to lack of use, the Phantom has remained reclusively in a Sydney Eastern Suburbs garage with its original coachwork and engine and is now offered for the first time in 54 years.
The car’s amazing seclusion means it has not been mentioned in any of the usual RR reference books, but is being offered for sale with its UK logbook and other documentation, including a copy of its purchase details and import papers, dating from 1969.
Because of its time-warp condition and amazing potential as a preservation candidate or restoration project, Shannons believe the ‘Phantom of the Barn’ will find willing bidders in the $35,000-$50,000 range when it is offered with ‘no reserve’ on March 12.