1909 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost

Chassis No. 1120 was the second Silver Ghost delivered to Canada and is believed to be the third oldest known Silver Ghost wearing original coachwork. It was ordered by Mrs. Henry Cawthra, the widow of Henry Cawthra, a prominent Toronto businessman. The family retained the car until 1935. It was then purchased by Cameron Peck and later by Atwater Kent. Eventually, it resided in the State Museum of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The current owners acquired the car in 1996

Rolls-Royce built 7,874 Silver Ghosts between 1906 and 1926. Power was from a new side-valve, six-cylinder, 7036cc engine that grew to 7,428cc in 1910. The engine was mated to a three-speed gearbox until 1913, when a four-speed was utilized. Suspension was leaf spring and early examples had brakes on the rear wheels operated by a hand lever with a pedal-operated transmission brake. In 1913 the footbrake system was moved to the rear drums. In 1923 four-wheel servo-assisted brakes became optional.

Mrs. Cawthra Elliot of Toronto, Canada order this Rolls-Royce in July 1909 and is believed to be the second Silver Ghost to have arrived in Canada. The other car is no longer extant, making this example the oldest Canadian delivery car still in existence.

It received paintwork in the 1920s when it was repainted from blue to green. At some point, its suspension was improved with Westinghouse pillar shock absorbers but was otherwise remained original.

In the late 1930s, the car was still with the Cawthra Elliott family when it was acquired by D. Cameron Peck of Chicago. The car remained in his care until around 1952 when it was sold to Atwater Kent. After a handful of years, the car was sold to the Pennsylvania State Museum, where it resided for the next four decades. In 1996, it was sold at a Pebble Beach Auction and acquired by Millard Newman. Later that year, he parted with it to the current owner.

The car is equipped with a 7,428cc L-Head inline 6-cylinder engine producing 50 horsepower at 1,500 RPM. There is a three-speed manual transmission, leaf spring suspension, and rear drum brakes.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2021