Rolls-Royce 40/50-hp Silver Ghost Croall & Croall Shooting Brake

A paragon of aristocratic prosperity, this Rolls-Royce shooting brake, in other words hunting car.

A paragon of aristocratic prosperity, this Rolls-Royce shooting brake, in other words a hunting car. Gun cabinets above the rear fenders, a rack on the roof to transport game, and a stag head as a radiator mascot – only a year later the famous Spirit of Ecstasy would be introduced. Landowner John Charles Montagu-Douglas-Scott, seventh Duke of Buccleuch and ninth Duke of Queensberry, great-uncle of Lord Montagu of Beaulieu and descendant of four British monarchs, commissioned the construction of this Rolls-Royce in 1910. The bodywork was made by the Scottish royal warrant holder Croall & Croall in Kelso. The six-cylinder Rolls-Royce 40/50 HP was introduced at the London Motor Show in 1906. The twelfth example was painted entirely in aluminum color and, partly because of its very quiet-running engine, was given the name Silver Ghost. In a reliability trial in 1907, this car covered a distance of 24,000 kilometers without major repairs. Until then, no car had managed more than half that distance. However, the poor roads meant that a puncture had to be repaired twenty-nine times. Only a few parts showing slight wear needed to be replaced: total cost about two English pounds. In honor of this achievement, which confirmed the claim that Rolls-Royce was the best car in the world, the 40/50 HP type was from then on referred to as the Silver Ghost. This is the third-oldest Silver Ghost with an original body.