The only UK pre-war entry: 10,000+ hours of restoration on show at Concorso d’Eleganza
Rolls-Royce 20/25 after unwelcome bath in Geneva lake, in 1939. Both car and driver, HRH Field Marshal Shah Ali Wali Khan, the King of Afghanistan’s brother, were successfully rescued.
Fiennes Restoration, the oldest pre-war Rolls-Royce and Bentley restoration specialist in the UK, is taking the result of its most majestic project, a unique 1932 Rolls-Royce 20/25 drophead coupé, to Villa d’Este for the event’s Concorso d’Eleganza this weekend.
The only UK pre-war entrant at the most prestigious classic car Italian event, the Rolls-Royce 20/25 arrives after completing a twelve-year restoration project, during which more than 10,000 man-hours were spent to return the car to its original splendour.
Rescued from thirty-five years’ silence and anonymity, the Rolls-Royce which once belonged to HRH Field Marshal Shah Ali Wali Khan, Victor of Kabul (1888-1977), brother to King Shah Nader Khan of Afghanistan, Plenipotentiary Extraordinary to the Court of St James London, Paris, Berne, Warsaw and Rome, and then Prime Minister of Afghanistan, was found in barn-condition in the USA. Shipped back to the UK, Fiennes Restoration’s team used both traditional and modern skills at their disposal to repair, restore, renew a valuable piece of automotive history.
Some parts had to be remade, such as original interior detail, like trim and seats, had been damaged by a fire. Many details had to be recreated: door handles, seat-adjusters, seat-hinge mechanisms, external chrome body trims, but, wherever possible, the restoration route was preferred.
‘It has been a labour of love,’ muses Dr Will Fiennes PhD, Fiennes Restoration’s owner and managing director. ‘However, we are delighted to participate in such an illustrious event as Villa d’Este’s Concorso. Along with the jury’s verdict, the spectators’ vote via ‘public referendum’ is also important. We hope to be worthy contenders for the Trofeo BMW Group, ‘la Coppa d’Oro’, and the Trofeo BMW Group Italia as well as class winners.’
Rolls-Royce 20/25 in all its glory, after a 12-year restoration.
For more information please contact:
Angie Voluti PR Fiennes Restoration Ltd
Tel: +44 (0) 1604 863 044 Clanfield Mill, Little Clanfield,
Mob: +44 7584 306 014 Bampton, Oxon
