FEATURE CAR SPECIAL ROYAL ROLLS-ROYCES: 20HP AND PHANTOM VI
A TALE OF TWO DEMONSTRATORS
Collector cars and concours consultant Mohammed Luqman Ali Khan narrates the histories of two demonstrators from a famous Indian car collection, one pre-war and one post-war, but both with a royal past WORDS AND PICTURES: MOHAMMED LUQMAN ALI KHAN
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he role of the Rolls-Royce ‘demonstrator’ back in the day, much like today’s demo cars, was to impress the prospective customer. Factory demonstrators or ‘propaganda cars’ were expected to woo the would-be buyers and help generate sales. They exhibited the brand’s mechanical prowess and offered a taste and experience of a vehicle’s performance with the aid of test-drives, often chauffeured of
course. They reflected the auto-maker’s ethos, its capabilities and the special features of that particular automobile, so features-laden demonstrators were constructed by the company to showcase what was possible. They were displayed at motor shows and were entered in reliability trials, rallies, hill climbs and endurance races. The majority of Rolls-Royce’s demonstrators have managed to survive in good hands and some have ended up with
royalty. Even the most valuable and historic Rolls-Royce in the world started life as a demonstrator: AX 201, the original Silver Ghost from 1906. In India, demonstrators wore registration numbers starting with ‘T’ denoting a Trials car. Capitalizing on an unprecedented marketing opportunity, Rolls-Royce cleverly pressed into service about half a dozen demonstrators at the 1911 Delhi Durbar. The great Imperial Durbars were a mass
Once owned by the Nawab of Sachin and now beautifully restored, GRJ 1 is a 1927 20hp Barker Tourer
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