Rolls-Royce 40/50hp Silver Ghost 7.4 Litre 4 Speed Balloon Car

Chassis 1009 is one of only 16 cars in the Silver Ghost's 1000 series and, as far as the dealer can establish, the only survivor. It combines the larger 7.4-litre six with the four-speed gearbox that was dropped for the 1100 series in mid-1909 and not reinstated until 1913. It also has the early 'parallel bonnet'. Only two other surviving cars are thought to share that engine and gearbox pairing.

The car left Derby in June 1909 and went via London dealers Laurie & Marne to a Mrs W K D'Arcy of Norfolk. It later carried a Mulliner limousine body. Stanley Sears recovered it as a bare chassis after the war, then sold it to a Californian collector, whose family kept it until 1999. The current balloon-style coachwork was built in 1959 by Maurice Schwartz of Bohmann & Schwartz in Pasadena. The car was shown at Pebble Beach in the 1970s, where it took a second-place ribbon.

It has just emerged from a two-year restoration by marque specialist Alan Glew. It has new light metallic silver paint, green buttoned hide trim, a green double duck hood, wooden Warland detachable-rim wheels and new tyres. Nickel-plated lamps are fitted, and a period AA badge stands in for a mascot. About 100 shakedown miles have been covered since completion.