1949 Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn

This car is offered from outside of the European Union. It has been imported under temporary admission customs bond and is therefore subject to Dutch import tax on top of the winning bid price (9%).

The winning bidder will receive a receipt for the final hammer value, as their proof of purchase.

This vehicle has been on static display for a number of years and the only documented history available is displayed in our photo gallery.

We have not tried to start or drive the car, and cannot vouch for its mechanical viability or functionality. It will require recommissioning prior to road use and is sold ‘as seen’.

As CARS Europe BV is the guarantor of all customs duties and taxes for vehicles within Dutch customs bond, the car cannot be released to the buyer or transporter immediately after the sale. For all enquiries relating to Customs, please contact CARS Europe BV.

Purchases will only be released once cleared funds are received. All vehicles must be collected after the payment of funds. All storage charges must be paid in full prior to the vehicle’s collection or onward transportation.

Storage charges payment must be arranged with the storage company. Collection is strictly by appointment only.

Please send a booking email to the storage centre to ensure vehicle(s) are ready at time of collection. Photographic ID will be required at time of collection. If a third party is collecting for you, then written authorisation is required in advance from you and photographic ID of the third party is required at the time of collection. Collection either by buyer or third party is only possible for vehicles within customs bond if applicable import taxes paid are paid to import into country of bonded storage location.

As soon as we receive your payment, we will inform the manager of the storage facility where your car(s) is stored: a release note will be sent to them.

CARS Europe BV will contact you just after the sale to confirm onward transport requirements. Direct contact at CARS for enquiries is as follows; Joanna Herlihy, +31 (0) 252 682 526, +44 7483 433912, [email protected].

STORAGE CHARGES, €30 + local VAT per motor car per day commencing from the sixth day following the auction end.

CUSTOMS CHARGES, €500 per motor car (plus applicable permanent import taxes from bond).

Built for a customer in Switzerland, this Silver Dawn delivered new to Garage de l'Athénée in Geneva and sold to a Victor Lyon in the same city. It was fitted with French type headlights, instruments in Km, ‘special springing formula’ suspension, dust proofing with a blind to the boot, no rear numberplate and orange brake lights, so perhaps intended for adventures in a desert climates Switzerland isn’t particularly dusty. It was shipped from Britain on the Folkestone to Boulogne ferry the SS Deal on the 12th of December 1949.

Later it moved to California, probably in 1962 as a title is in the file, bought by Oscar winning Hollywood cinematographer Haskell Wexler, noted for his work on Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, In the Heat of the Night, The Thomas Crown Affair and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

In 2008 it was bought by a Kuwaiti Sheikh and shipped to his palace.

The standard steel body, made by Pressed Steel is beautifully proportioned and styled, the panels are very good, smooth with no damage to the bodywork, and the champagne paint work presents well, looking good for an older paint job. Look closely and there are some cracks and chips around panel joins and edges and the odd mark in the finish.

The imposing grill is in good condition, the chrome slightly dull on top but not pitted and the Spirit of Ecstasy looks superb, while the chrome bumpers are excellent.

In the cabin the wooden dashboard looks very tidy, its lacquer is good over the dark wood and house the original black face, white needle kilometre per hour speedo and dials. Underfoot the carpets are very nice and look fairly recent.

The brown leather seats have some patina, more so in the front and the tops have been sun damaged and cracked.

In the back there are fold down seat back tables and in the rear pillars are wooden framed mirrors, matching the door caps and window frames.

There is rust dust and some flaking in evidence here and there, but most of what we can see appears to have a good amount of structural integrity.

Clearly, you will want to visit the car and see for yourself.

Everything in the engine bay is in its right and proper place and seems to be clean and dry.

The car doesn’t come with any history or service records.

This car must be registered in the country of your choice and you will need to contact the appropriate vehicle licensing agency for instructions on how to do this.

Any paperwork shown in the gallery is a facsimile and in no way constitutes any kind of licensing or registration certification.

Built in Britain, the Rolls-Royce first travelled to live in Switzerland before finding a home in the USA with a Hollywood Academy Award winner and finally being sold to an owner in Kuwait.

Having travelled the world in its 73 years, it has been on static display for some years so will require recommissioning before returning to the road.

When new the car was supplied in black livery. Later photos show it spent some time silver, before gaining its current champagne hue.

It comes with an ORIGINAL California state 'title' document dated 1962.

This is a beautiful and well-preserved example of a rare car, and with a storied past it is all the more interesting.

It does need mechanical recommissioning as it has been on display but a dry indoor climate appears to have been kind to the car.