MICHAEL MARSHALL-CLARKE
1974 ROLLS-ROYCE SILVER SHADOW -SRH20091
1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow – 4 door saloon
Reg. No: GWW 480N
Chassis No: SRH20091
Paint colour: Regency Bronze (ICI M 151-3898) with black Everflex (5218 DH) to roof
Fine lines: Black, single
Interior: Black hide (VM 8500)
Carpet and over-rugs: Black
Headlining: Light fawn Ambla (BE 135)
Special vehicle requirements: Sundym glass throughout, Lucas UD 16917/18
Quartz Iodine headlamps, Dunlop white sided tyres, Duchess strap to passenger door cantrail,
Both front seats to be set back 2¼” rearwards.
Original order No: R8678
Original order date: 14/02/74
Original delivery date: 11/11/74
Delivering Main Dealer: Appleyard Rippon Ltd, Leeds
History
I became the 3rd custodian of SRH20091 on 15th February 2020. She's a late model 'series 1' flared wheelarch car, with the wider track and larger 6.75 litre L-Series powerplant. I call her 'Auric'. I'm a big Bond fan so her name is a nod towards classic 007 film 'Goldfinger', but also something that is described as “auric” : is of, relating to, or derived from gold, so it seemed wholly appropriate for her.
After a brief taste of Shadow ownership in 2014, with an early example from 1968 that often 'failed to proceed', a 6 year search began for my ideal 'keeper' Silver Shadow. In September 2019 I spotted a Shadow of the right age, spec and condition, for sale at Bridge Classic Cars in Suffolk. She bewitched me with her unusual and eye-catching Regency Bronze coachwork and black Everflex roof, but life got in the way and by the time I got around to making an appointment she’d been sold. 4 months later and the advert from Bridge popped up again. Miraculously the sale had fallen through and she had reappeared for sale. This had to be fate! A viewing was quickly arranged, the purchase made and the 'Golden Roller” was mine.
She was delivered to R-R main dealer Appleyard Rippon Ltd, on Order No. R8678, for a corporate customer in Leeds who’d had the confidence, and cash, to order her in the middle of an oil crisis. She was registered GWW 480N on Armistice Day 1974, the plate she still bears today, and became the MD's transport - staying with him when he moved to Eastbourne sometime in the late 1970s.
Like many of these majestic, but expensive to run, motor cars she appears to have been laid up for a number of years during the '80s and '90s then, in the summer of 2015 after the original owner died, she was sold at Kings Lynn's classic car auction to her second owner, who resided in Suffolk. 'Auric' was featured in the RREC's “Spirit & Speed” magazine in May 2020 – Issue 360. Pages 56 – 61. She now lives in SW London and our continuing adventures are captured on Instagram @themanwiththegoldenroller
1990 BENTLEY TURBO R - MCH33923
1990 Bentley Turbo R Long Wheelbase – 4 door saloon
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Reg. No: H532 BFJ
Chassis No: MCH33923
Paint colour: Royal Blue (9510457)
Fine lines: St James Red, double
Interior: Dark Blue hide (A4133)
Carpet and over-rugs: Dark Blue (98)
Headlining: Dark Blue hide (A4133)
Factory-fitted options and extras: Sundym glass, Silver Spur seats front/rear – rear electrically reclining, Badge bar, Radio telephone – Motorola 6800X, Padded picnic tables, Grab handles to both front seats, Painted radiator shell with brightwork vanes, Radio/cassette with CD interchanger, Red Bentley badges, Rear quarter badges (red), Fire extinguisher.
Coachbuilder fitted options: Double height, fully illuminated cocktail/drinks cabinet to rear compartment. Dark Blue hide (A4133) and walnut veneer. 2x square, cut crystal decanters with Sterling Silver decanter labels. 2x cut crystal tumbler glasses to match. Modification of front central armrest.
Original order No: BP10620
Original order date: 04/04/90
Original delivery date: 12/09/90
Delivering Main Dealer: H.A Fox, Torquay
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History
Carrying on the Bond theme, this car is called 'Blofeld' as the turbocharged 'L-series' V8 is a bit of a bruiser – capable of 0-60mph in under 7 seconds and a top speed of 146mph, back in the day, not bad for a car that weighs over 2.5 tonnes!
This is a one-owner from new car, being delivered to H.A Fox in Torquay for the Chairman and owner of an international hotel chain and travel company, based in NW London. After delivery, on the 12th September 1990, the car was sent to Hoopers coachbuilders for the fitting of a bespoke drinks cabinet to the rear compartment, a unique and costly installation. The car stills retains the original cut crystal and Sterling Silver accessories that complement the one-off bar.
I became Blofeld's second owner in July 2022 and he's now moved south of the Thames. Our adventures can be followed on Instagram @thebentleyturbobar