Built in 1907, the AX 201 is the most significant Rolls-Royce ever built, now The Concours of Elegance will showcase it at Hampton Court Palace this year. The event will take place from the 3rd-5th September 2021.
The 1907 Rolls-Royce 'Silver Ghost’, registration AX201, is a 40/50 HP model, and the very car that gave birth to the now legendary ‘best car in the world’ moniker, as well as the nickname ‘Silver Ghost’ that was latterly applied to Rolls-Royce 40/50 models officially.
In its period it was an exceptional car, silver painted with silver-plated fittings, it was showcased at the 1907 Scottish Reliability Trials, where it achieved overall victory and subsequently covered 14,371 miles without issue under RAC scrutiny, double the contemporary record. Following this event the car was nicknamed ‘The Silver Ghost’ due to its appearance and uncanny silence.
The car was returned to Rolls-Royce after a long time in private ownership and repair work was conducted between 1948 and 1951. Once the car was fully restored in 1989, the car did the 1990 Silver Ghost Charity Tour between John O’Groats and Land’s End. Later, in 1998 the car came into the ownership of Bentley Motors, and finally in 2019, it was released to a private collector in England, and will be shown to the public for the first time in over 20 years at the 2021 Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court.
The Concours of Elegance will gather a total of around 1,000 cars in a number of special features and displays, excluding the main display vehicles. There will be a Gulf vs. Martini celebration and also a display of unique modern classics in the Future Classics. Concours of Elegance are also celebrating The Queens 95th birthday with a collection of 95 British cars.
Tickets can be bought from concoursofelegance.co.uk/tickets
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