1931 Rolls-Royce 20/25 Doctors Coupé
“ Beautifully conceived and executed, a credit to its long-standing RREC Owner. ”
Being offered as part of our curated auction in conjunction with the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts Club Annual Rally at Kelmarsh Hall in Northamptonshire on the 26th – 28th June’26.

Background
Any car good enough for Land Speed Record hero Sir Donald Campbell is good enough for us.

He owned a Rolls-Royce 20/25.

The 20/25 was the second of Rolls-Royce’s pre-war entry level models, and had considerably more get up and go than its predecessor, the 20, thanks to a bigger, more powerful, 3.7-litre engine.

Built between 1929 and 1936, the 20/25 was tremendously popular, becoming the biggest selling of the inter-war cars built by the world-famous Crewe-based company.

Its success enabled Rolls-Royce to survive the economic difficulties of the Great Depression years and remain one of world's great brands.

A total of 3,827 20/25s were produced, of which a staggering 70% are still on the road today.

An Autocar report in 1931 describes the 20/25 thus: 'Every single feature spells durability, the machine is on a plane altogether superior to the normal style of motor car'.

All 20/25s were outfitted with custom bodies from legendary coachbuilders such as Park Ward, Vanden Plas, Hooper, Freestone & Webb, Brewster, Gurney Nutting, Thrupp & Maberly, Mulliner and Rippon Bros.

The engine was a 3699cc straight-six with overhead pushrod operated valves, featuring a cast-iron block with an aluminium crankcase. A single cast iron cylinder head sat atop the assembly with a single spark plug per cylinder.

The typically British long stroke design also incorporated a seven main bearing crankshaft with a vibration damper and pressure fed lubrication, with a relief valve feeding the rocker shaft and timing gears. All of which was really very advanced for the time.

Mated to this was a four-speed manual gearbox with synchromesh on third and fourth gears, and a single plate dry clutch. These features, plus servo-assisted brakes on all four wheels, ensured that Rolls-Royce were pretty much leading the way in the development and application of new technology at the time.

Overview
Originally supplied new in 1931 to a Miss Clegg of Farnham Royal, Bucks, this utterly charming vehicle started life as an all-weather Cabriolet bodied by the esteemed coachbuilders Freestone & Webb.

Over the years its condition deteriorated and it became rather forlorn and dilapidated.

It then had the immense good fortune to be purchased by the vendor, a man who is a long-standing member of the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts’ Club (RREC) and an expert and highly knowledgeable restorer.

He took the decision to undertake a total, nut and bolt rebuild of the car and to rebody it in the ‘Doctors Coupé’ style you see before you today.

The ‘Doctor’s Coupé’ style featured an enclosed 2-door cabin and an external ‘Dickey’ or ‘Rumble’ seat – which were known in the USA by the rather more evocative terms of a ‘There You Rot’ seat or ‘Mother-In-Law’ seat.

‘Doctor’s Coupé’ was an informal nickname and never one used officially by Rolls-Royce themselves.

The results of the vendor’s hard work, expenditure and application of skills and craft are as good as we’ve ever seen.

This really is a first-class piece of work and one that has been rightly recognised and rewarded by multiple class wins at the RREC Burghley House national rally and other prestigious events.

The rebodying was done using age-old craft skills and in the traditional manner, using a kiln-dried ash frame crafted by a master joiner, over which were draped hand-fashioned aluminium panels. The engine was line bored and the crank shaft reground to its original factory specification.

New pistons were installed along with new valves.

The block has been rebored and a new head sourced and fitted.

All other mechanical components including the drive train and brakes have been stripped, refurbished and rebuilt.

The car today benefits from an overdrive unit, making it a more relaxed and comfortable drive for modern roads and driving conditions.

Estimate: £40,000 - £50,000

View The Current Bid Price HERE