1962 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II

Finished in two-tone blue with a grey hide interior, ‘USU 803’ is a 1962 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II.

Bought in 2022 for photoshoots and promotional work, the seller is the Silver Cloud’s eight registered UK keeper since it arrived here in 1989.

Only being sold because they need the warehouse space to accommodate their burgeoning retro British clothing business, the Silver Cloud is fresh from an untroubled trip to the Goodwood Revival, a four-hour round trip it accomplished with no fuss whatsoever.

The Silver Cloud’s lines suit a two-tone finish better than most of its contemporaries – and a light-blue-over-dark-blue like this suits its lines better than most other colour combinations.

It helps that the panels align well, and the car looks good as you walk up to it; we’ll talk about its few issues in a moment but for now it is probably sufficient to say that no-one is going to look on aghast as you amble past.

The brightwork is exceptionally good with nothing more troublesome than mild tarnishing, and we suspect even that could be minimised with a session with a tin of Autosol and a pack of microfibre towels.

The radiator shell and the Spirit of Ecstasy are especially good, which is reassuring as they’re the only bits most people will ever notice.

The wing-mounted mirrors all but eliminate the sport of blindspots we’ve become accustomed to now every manufacturer bolts them onto the doors, and few mirrors provide a better view than the Silver Cloud’s gently swelling, swooping flanks.

The nearside rear and offside front are fitted with BF Goodrich Silvertown tyres, while the nearside front and offside rear are Dunlop Forts. The latter are old and perished and will need to be replaced, as will the spare in the boot.

The lamps – and all are by Lucas – are in good order with no chips, cracks, or other damage. The glazing is good too, albeit with some delamination to the windscreen corners.

The door locks are by Yale too, which is yet another indicator of the quality that went into building each and every Silver Cloud.

As for its blemishes and flaws, the nearside rear chrome hubcap has gone a bit rusty, and bubbles have formed on the nearside front wing, the nearside front door, the boot lid, and the offside rear door. The nearside rear wing has a rust hole and cracked paint, sanding marks are evident on the bonnet, the paint on the nearside rear door is peeling in places, and the paint has been ‘burned through’ on the nearside front wing’s trailing edge.

The offside rear door has two dents in it, with the nearside bonnet having another. The paint has also been touched-up on the bonnet, the boot lid is scratched, there’s an orange-peel finish to the roof near the C-pillar, and the scuttle has been repainted in a slightly different colour to the rest of the coachwork.

The Silver Cloud’s cabin reeks of a gentler age, a time when gentlefolk used fingertip pressure against a thin-rimmed steering wheel, directing the automatic gearbox using a delicate, wand-like gearlever.

Forward movement was accomplished with little more than a gentle murmur from a distant land, while braking was achieved with little more than gentle foot pressure.

Touchscreens were still more than a half-a-century in the future too as were digital screens – but trust us when we say that using the white-on-black gauges and proper mechanical switches and controls will be no hardship.

Nor will sitting in the pillowy-soft-yet-still-supportive front seats, seats that boast a bench cushion and individual backrests and which betray their considerable age with little more than gentle softening, a few crinkles, and a developing patina – much like most of our staff, in fact.

The rear seats are where the first owner would have been found, and it’s fair to say this is where the real luxury is to be found: With supremely comfortable seats, vast legroom, a brace of walnut picnic tables, wood-framed (and only lightly foxed) mirrors, and no demands beyond snoozing and admiring the view, sitting here is the definition of luxury for those of us forced to navigate traffic-choked streets and motorways.

The floor carpets, which are later replacements, are in a fine condition being free of rips, tears, and holes. The headlining is clean, taut, and undamaged too, and the Jack Barclay sill plates hint at its provenance.

The electric aerial is the original though, sending its signal to a modern DAB radio complete with Bluetooth connectivity, allowing you to stream your calls and music into this extraordinarily elegant environment.

The burr walnut veneer is in good order with the only remedial work needed being to the trim around the windscreen, which would benefit from being sanded down and revarnished.

The carpet trim on the bottom of the doors is a bit moth-eaten too, and the trim is missing from the outside of the driver’s footwell.

Martin Adams Vehicle Servicing has created a Vehicle History Report for the work it has carried out since the seller bought the car in 2022, and this includes:

· 17.08.2022 – new numberplate

· 11.02.2023 – new power-steering pump and fluid plus a battery and new bulbs

· 06.06.2024 – new window switches and fettling the mechanisms to get them working

· 05.11.2024 – fresh engine oil

· 19.05.2025 – fresh engine oil and filter plus new brake pipework and reservoirs

· 24.06.2025 – repair exhaust system including a new rear silencer and a nearside rear tyre

· 16.09.2026 – new upper brake master cylinder followed by fresh brake fluid

As you can see, it starts well and idles with barely a murmur. It revs freely too and makes all the right noises with a greedy induction roar and a nicely-judged exhaust note.

We note it also shows a decent charge to the battery, albeit a variable one. The oil pressure gauge reads lower than it should though.

The centre-hinged bonnet, a supremely practical feature that was all but extinct by the time this example rolled off the production line, opens to reveal a nicely presented engine bay that’s clean enough for you to be able to show it off without embarrassment yet isn’t so clean that you’ll be reluctant to use in in foul weather for fear of ruining a concours finish.

The sills have been protected with a thick coat of underseal, so it is hard to assess their condition. There is a little surface rust inside the boot though, and on the odd seam and edge underneath as well as inside the wheelarches and on their lips.

The longitudinal chassis members look good and strong though, although the front end is covered in a thick layer of old oil and grease and the offside front wing is held on with a somewhat crude bracket.

The Rolls-Royce does not have an MoT certificate, and the recent Vehicle History Check is clear bar the marker for being an imported car, something the V5C Registration Certificate suggests happened in 1989.

Cars of this era remind us how far we’ve fallen; at a time when people buy their cars on a PCP and spend less time choosing their family wheels than they do their washing machine, a Silver Cloud harks back to a gentler time, a time when cars were unique, and manufacturers took a pride in engineering and assembling them properly.

The need for a bit of TLC is reflected in our estimate, which is a very reasonable £22,000 to £27,000.

This auction has 5% (+ VAT) buyer's fees on top of the 'hammer', minimum £600.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at THE MARKET HQ in South Oxfordshire. Viewings are STRICTLY BY APPOINTMENT and we are open weekdays (apart from Bank Holidays) between 10am - 12pm or 2pm - 4pm. To make a booking, please use the ‘Enquire About This Vehicle’ button on the listing. Feel free to ask any questions, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.