Beschreibung:

This unique Gurney Nutting 20/25hp has the distinction of being commissioned and owned by none other than Jack Barclay, the legendary 'Bentley Boy' and arguably most famous automobile dealer in the world, certainly the most successful salesman of Rolls and Bentley marques from his hallowed premises in London. More than just a car for his busy stock book, its fastidiously documented history includes fascinating correspondence with the last but one owner who had acquired it in 1964 from Sir Andrew MacTaggart, then chairman and driving force behind the engineering giant Balfour Beatty. MacTaggart had acquired the car on November 11, 1935 at a time when the Balfour Beatty business was flourishing principally owing to George Balfour and his astute overseas expansion. It was right around this time that they were commissioned by King Faisal 1 to undertake one of their boldest projects yet, the construction of a power generating barrage across the Tigris River in Iraq, and they had been specifically chosen for their ability with such operations. The Rolls was registered in MacTaggart's name to Balfour Beatty's Queen Street offices, literally a 'stone's throw' across Berkeley Square. Writing to the previous owner James P. Stuart Jr. whom MacTaggart had sold the car to in 1964, he succinctly confirms the history of the car from new stating 'Originally Jack Barclay the well-known Rolls-Royce car distributor, had Gurney Nutting design the aluminum body to suit his individual requirements. For a short period the car was transferred to John W. Ansell and then back to Jack Barclay Ltd. I purchased the car in 1935 and have kept it for my personal use since then, but, of course it was laid up during the war. He continues 'Jack Barclay and I were friends and naturally the latter has had the exclusive maintenance of the car all the years'. Stuart had the car shipped to the U.S. and for the next 15 years showed and toured it at many club events. Throughout Mr. Stuart's ownership, he maintained and researched the car, such that today there is a fascinating and detailed file worthy of digestion. With increasingly poor health the car was laid up in 1979 and after negotiation with Mr. Stuart's son, the current owner was able to prize the car from the family in 1999. Initially shown at a handful of events in its then current order, these included taking the top 'Chairman's Design Award' at the 2001 'Eyes on Design' show. After this considerable time and money was lavished on the car to return it to a condition befitting the car. Much of this work was undertaken by Brian Joseph's renowned Classic & Exotic Service in Troy, MI. This included a full bare metal respray and bodywork refurbishment, with wood replaced where necessary. During this exercise, the subtleties and details of the design emerged, showing how advanced aerodynamic styling was at Gurney Nutting, most intriguing is the rear trunk and fenders which are sculpted from a single piece of aluminum, a work of art even before it was painted. Following the majority of the work, the car was shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 2004 and has continued to be shown at numerous concours around the country including Amelia Island and Meadowbrook Hall. In July 2008 it was given a score of 99.25 at the C.C.C.A. Grand Classic in Dearborn, and awarded Premier Senior status and in preparation for the sale, the car returned to Classic & Exotic for a freshening and detailing and is showing very well today. All the while, the car has remained in regular use, rather than being just a 'Show Queen'. Further research by the current owner has established that just three cars were built to this specific design, a Phantom II Continental, a Sunbeam and this car, the combination of its design, condition and interesting provenance make it worthy of presence in any major Rolls-Royce collection.