1930s pre war Rolls Royce 20/25 - the car that saved Rolls Royce!

Rolls Royce 20/25 The 20/25 was made from 1929 until 1936 and this is a 1934 model, meaning it benefits from some of the nifty updates they did as they moved through the lifecycle of the model. The car came to market in uncertain times - life between the first and second world war was tough and there was a lot of unrest. Rolls Royce had previously had a lot of success with their 20 - another interwar model released in 1922 - and decided the 20/25 would sit in the same buyer bracket of luxury owner driver but this new model would offer enhanced performance and power. The engine in the 20, which was a 3.1 was now enhanced and was a 3,675cc - although the engine performance improves again in 1932. It is a 6 cylinder, overhead valve engine giving a top speed of mid 70s - positively lightening quick for the time and fast enough to enjoy in today’s busy impatient world. Whilst the 20 had been a success, Rolls Royce found the 20/25 took them slightly by surprise as it was an enormous hit with the customers, so much so in fact, it became their best seller in the inter war period - selling more than twice as many units as the Phantom 2 - which was the larger of the cars in the range at the time. It’s worth noting by the way, that these cars still hold worldwide appeal. A remarkable 93% were initially sold in the UK but nowadays, they are logged as being registered in more than 50 countries worldwide and less than 40% remain in Britain - proving that the Rolls commands respect globally and is an aspirational car for every motorist with good taste - no matter where they dwell. The car was designed well and there are various tweaks throughout the production life from the simple bits like the fuel tank increasing from 14 gallons to 18 right through to the big changes in 1932 whereby the car gets some marked improvements such as the high lift camshaft, the synchro on the top two gears and completely centralised chassis lubrication system. There’s also a handy reserve petrol supply which comes in the year before - which when you’re not achieving even 20mpg, you probably need a lot more fuel than you might first think for a spirited adventure in such a pleasant vehicle. Brakes on this are an internal expanding 4-wheel operation and the handbrake is independent, working on the rear wheels. There’s also a servo which is a mechnical motor driven set up from the gearbox. As many of you Rolls fanatics out there will know, at this point, the manufacturer made the chassis and the mechanical parts and it was then over to a coachbuilder, chosen by the purchaser, to have the body made. There are a few who really stood out from the time and one of those was HJ Mulliner, who made the body for this particular car. As we look round the car, you’ll note the dealer brass plaques in the footwell still remain. This car when new, was sold to Alfred Dickson, whose family were famous for establishing Yates’ wine lodges. Based in Preston, they owned the car until 1978 and it was their shopping Rolls because it was only used for a weekly outing for the chaffeur to take Grandma to the local shops. David’s family purchased the car in 2013 and with one owner in between, this car at nearly 90 years old, has only ever lived with three families, which might explain the remarkable originality.