This Phantom II Continental was ordered from London dealer Paddon Brothers by Captain Roland George Orred of Ampney Crucis, Gloucestershire. Captain Orred had apparently viewed the original prototype Continental, chassis number 26EX, and was thrilled by its design and the prospect of its power. In specifying his own car, he spoke in no uncertain terms: “I want a really hot chassis and I want springs that will ensure stability at really high speeds on the Continent and when cornering fast with a full load of passengers and luggage. I don’t, in the least, mind stiff springs at low speeds as long as I feel safe at high speeds.” Indeed, Paddon Brothers instructed that the car have “speed and acceleration as with the first Phantom II Continental 26EX”.

The body, built by H.J. Mulliner, was a near-copy of the Barker design of 26EX, including its very rakish open, flared wings, dual rear-mounted spares, close-coupled doors, and low roofline with sliding roof. The car later, in the postwar era, became part of the renowned collection of early American enthusiast Vojta Mashek of Chicago, the first of several prominent United States enthusiasts, including Coleman Schwartz and Warren Richards, who would own it through the late 1980s; it was active for many years in Rolls-Royce Owners Club events and outings.

The car’s next known owner, in 1959, was Vojta Mashek of Chicago, one of the most prominent American enthusiasts of the era, known for his spectacular, well-chosen collection of significant high-end marques. Following Mr Mashek, the Rolls-Royce enjoyed several further notable owners on the East Coast of the US, including Coleman I Schwartz of Villanova, Pennsylvania, and, most prominently, Warren Richards of Baltimore, in whose long ownership it was used regularly in Rolls-Royce Owners Club events and outings.

In 1990, chassis number 58GX returned to its homeland and was restored to its present sleek black livery. Three years later, it was acquired for the consigning owner’s collection, in which it has now resided for over three decades in good hands. Affectionately known as “Dolly”, it has been regularly used and enjoyed with great pleasure, most prominently on the Monte Carlo Rallye of 1994, for which it traveled 2,355 miles over nine days! Today it remains a marvelous Continental, of quality and character, nicely kept, with an attractive patina from being used and enjoyed exactly as its original owner would have wished it to be.