RHD and on UK plates

Update: serviced at Hillier Hill Jan 2024 and MOT renewed - No advisories - in excess of GBP 18k spent at Hillier Hill in the last two years.

Offered for sale is my beautiful RHD Rolls Royce Silver Spirit mk3. I purchased the car in 2012 from a small business owner in Yorkshire via brokerage of well known specialist dealers Vintage & Prestige. The owner had used the car very sparingly for local driving, and was selling the car to upgrade to a Phantom.

Living in London at the time I kept the car in a professional storage facility and used the car on highdays and holidays. I have since then moved back to the Netherlands, but kept the car in the UK and on UK plates. Beginning of 2023 I took the car to the Netherlands. Subsequently it has been on trips to Austria, Germany, the Le Mans classic and the Swiss, and has behaved impeccably.

The car’s livery is peacock blue and parchment hide with navy striping; a very classic and beautiful Rolls Royce combination. The car has some notable options such as the rear seat table trays and the lamb’s wool over rug carpets. The condition of the car, inside and outside is very good. During my ownership the car has been serviced and maintained by respected marque and type specialist Hillier Hill of Olney. In January 2023 the car received very elaborate maintenance to the tune of fourteen thousand pounds! The work include replacement of water pump, refurbishment of radiator, new battery, new tyres, refurbished wheel rims, replacement of belts, aircon reconditioning, replacement of woofer loudspeaker drivers, new Blaupunt Bremen audio system, wheel alignment, replacement of belts and an extensive service. End of December 2023 the car returned to Hillier Hill for its annual service, MOT renewal and some other upgrades (midrange loudspeakers and bumper end caps); costing in excess of GBP 4k. The car is very much on the button and MOT’ed until December 2024.

For me the Silver Spirit mk3 is really the sweet spot in the Rolls Royce lineage. It is still a wonderfully analog car and with all the Rolls Royce regal presence, style and sense of occasion, but modern enough to use as a reliable family car for intercontinental holiday’s and roadtrips. The car draws attention and admiration from both young and old and has the potential to become a timeless classic. I believe they are very much undervalued at the moment and make a very sound place to put your money in.

The Silver Spirit/Spur type had a long production life but the mk3 and mk4 versions were build in much smaller quantities (hundreds) in the period from 1994 to 1998, as opposed to the mk1 and mk2 versions, of which thousands were produced. The mk3 version introduced an uprated gearbox, active suspension system improving driving dynamics, new motor management and a new interior. As such they are the most desirable versions of the type. They are the last cars to be fully UK designed and build in the Pyms Lane Crewe factory, before it was sold to the VW group of Germany and the Rolls Royce marque to BMW. The type that succeeded the Silver Spirit (Silver Sheraph) features a BWM sourced engine and other components which is just not the same as the traditional, venerable Rolls Royce 6.75 litre V8 engined cars. As such the Silver Spirit mk3 is really the high point of the classic, British, Rolls Royce era to me.

So why am I consider selling?. Driving and insuring the car in Europe with a UK registration is a bit of a cumbersome and expensive process, and importing the car into the Netherlands will, following Brexit, attract VAT and import duties. So I am considering selling to a fellow car enthusiast who aspires to be the new custodian of the car and who is looking for one of the best examples on the market.

Yes, there are cheaper Silver Spirit’s for sale, but very few are mk3 and often are in less pristine condition and coming with significant deferred maintenance, which would necessitate an expensive rejuvenation, making my car, which is very much on the button, a much more rational and attractive proposition.

If you fit the above stated buyer profile and price range then I would be glad to provide you with more information and engage in a progressed dialogue.