- A highly original and attractive car with character in abundance.
- Charming ‘Top Hat’ style coachwork.
- Four wheel brakes converted by Rolls-Royce in 1928.
Chassis number GZK32 was off test on 17th April 1926, supplied with two spare wheels, a louvered bonnet, side lights to wings, luggage rack and with rear wheel brakes only. Included on the build cards was a note for rear wheel brakes to be fitted later. The car was sold via The Clyde Automobile Company and dispatched to A.C. Penman Ltd. of Dumfries, who produced a highly attractive ‘Top Hat’ style limousine coachwork. It was beautifully finished and highly detailed featuring a sliding glass division, smoking vent, window blinds with cloth trim to the rear compartment and leather in the front for the chauffeur. The car’s first owner was R.D. McGregor of Winston Lodge, Lamington, Lanarkshire.
In 1928, GZK32 was returned to the works from A.C. Penman Ltd. for conversion to receive front wheel brakes. Rolls-Royce records indicate continued maintenance and repairs up until 1931. A letter within the car’s history file, written in 1958 by Richard Browning (a previous owner), recalls the second owner as Zoe Duff. She left her estate to her two sons but neither could decide who should have the car, so it was stored between 1937 and 1953. It had covered less than 8,000 miles from new. The car continued to have a small number of discerning owners and between 1964 to 1990 was in the hands of George H. Jackson of Poulton Priory, Cirencester. He had Keith Bowley of Ashton Keynes Vintage Restorations carry out a considerable amount of mechanical work during the early 1980s. Then in 1990, GZK32 was sold by Sothebys for £40,000, a huge sum for a 20 Limousine in those days. The recorded mileage at this time was 68,000 miles.
Today, the car remains in beautiful and highly original condition having been well looked after by the current owner. Much of the trim is original and all the finishes have a pleasing aged patina. This is an attractive car which has character in abundance. It performs well and will appeal to a preservation enthusiast. The car comes with an interesting history file containing correspondence and invoices dating back to the 1950s.
