It has often been said that if you have to ask how much a Rolls-Royce is, then you probably can’t afford it. Well, guess what? I know how much this one is, and I still can’t afford it. However, if you can afford it, or you have a desire to get into the top end of the limo business, then this might be the car for you. Located in Boca Raton, Florida, you will find the Rolls listed for sale here on eBay. The owner has set a BIN price of $65,000, but you also have the option of making an offer.
The owner is a little short on information on the Silver Spur, but maybe this is a case of a picture being worth a thousand words. The condition of the car looks quite good. It isn’t clear who performed the stretch conversion, but I’m impressed by the way they have managed to duplicate the famous Rolls-Royce “Piano Finish” black paint. This in itself is a fairly time-consuming task, and at the Rolls-Royce factory, this one aspect of vehicle production takes several days of hand finishing and polishing to achieve a flawless shine. Panel fit and gaps on this car are all that you would expect from a Rolls-Royce, and the overall impression is very positive.
As is the norm with a Rolls-Royce, plenty of cows and trees have laid down their lives to produce a sumptuous interior. One particularly amazing aspect of the interior of any Rolls-Royce is the timberwork on the dash. It is a veneer, but if you look at the grain pattern on each item, you will find that the grain is symmetrical. This is achieved by using a technique called “book-leaving.” Essentially, two separate veneers are used from the same tree but are reversed from one another, like two pages of a book. They are then carefully trimmed together with a scalpel, and that achieves perfect symmetry. I’ve seen this work performed, and it is truly mind-boggling. The interior itself looks to be in really first-rate order. There is some wear on the wheel, but components such as the headlight controls and the area surrounding the ignition switch have managed to avoid the wear and tear that can afflict these items.
There are no photos provided of the engine, but the owner does say that the car runs and drives and that it has a mere 21,557 miles on the clock. The engine would be the normal 6.75-liter V8 item that was carried over from the Silver Shadow. The transmission would be the THM-400 3-speed automatic that Rolls-Royce used to source directly from General Motors. It is unclear whether the car is still fitted with the hydro-pneumatic self-leveling suspension that was standard in the Silver Spur, as some conversion companies were known to fit normal suspension to avoid some of the system’s inherent complexity.
This Rolls-Royce Silver Spur is not your average car, and while it would represent a rather luxurious way for a large family to travel, that won’t be who the owner is targeting for potential buyers. However, if you have always harbored a desire to run your own limousine service, then this would be a pretty nice way to start.
I believe RR offered their own custom stretch – this might be one of them. Today the non-stretch versions are only worth $10-20k depending on condition. Many suffer from delayed maintenance. I believe their suspension was licenced from Citroen and is very expensive to fix if not properly maintained. This one seems to be in very good condition but I can’t imagine anyone paying more than 1/2 the asking price.
Big day for stretch versions of otherwise useful autos here on Barn Finds
The rear wheels are not centered in the wheel wells, that would drive me crazy.
This one looks like an aftermarket stretch. The factory R/R Limo of this era had a different design in the side window area. This looks like a Silver Spur with an extra center added in. I can not imagine paying 65,000 for this car when you can find a number of Silver Spur and Spirits from this era for between 10k to 20k. Did a R/R search and found a number of them. Here is a respectable looking 82 Silver Spur ready to drive home on CL for 8k. Also found a brown and tan one for 10k but the white looks better. One of the lowest prices currently listed for a decent driver. 65k just because it’s a stretch? No way?
I think 65K is quite a stretch…
I would really need to stretch my budget to even consider that car. I have worked on many Rolls Royces and Bentleys and as a result, I would never want to own one.
I’ll give you sixty five hundred. !!!!
In the late 1980s there were only 2 coachbuilders permitted to stretch a Rolls-Royce or Bentley and still maintain the factory warranty: Mulliner-Park Ward [100% owned by Rolls-Royce], and Hooper & Co.
Both coachbuilders did more than just lengthen the body as seen here. M-PW raised the roofline above & between the drip rails above the windows & doors. Hooper raised the entire upper section of the vehicle, including all the windows, and if I recall they raised the height of the body about 1.5″.
Hooper also made a few “double cut” limousines, with the extended body between the doors as well as making the rear doors square at the body and lengthening the back fenders so the rear seat bottom was between the rear fenders and not between the doors. [as a typical Cadillac series 75 limo would look in the 1950s
This limo does not appear to have the increased roofline, and would probably have been stretched by a USA coachbuilder, either after being bought from a Rolls-Royce dealer, then arranged to have the stretch work done for the new owner, or someone bought the car used and had the stretch created.
Because of the dealer agreement with the Rolls-Royce factory, this car could not have been created by a dealer to sell as a new car. They could only sell the M-PW or Hooper versions.
I’m very familiar with the Hooper & Co. Limousines, having been friends with the Hooper Managing Director, as well as arranging for the sale of 3 different Hooper & Co. limousines to the middle east. I used to visit their facility in northwest London on a regular basis, where they created the limousines as well as performed major restorations to vintage Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars.
$65k?? The seller has a great sense of humor. It’d be [wait for it…] quite a STRETCH to get $30k out of it. 80s Rollers, no matter how meticulous the maintenance regimen has been, are horribly needy. Every system needs constant attention, parts are crazy expensive
Wow!