1926 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Playboy Roadster

Nearly all of the American-made Rolls-Royce Silver Ghosts produced in Springfield, Massachusetts, received closed, formal coachwork. Open-bodied Silver Ghosts were rare, and among them was the Playboy Roadster created by Brewster. It is believed that 28 examples were built in this body style, of which 15 were retrofitted to preexisting Springfield Silver Ghost chassis as replacements for increasingly out-of-style coachwork.

This Rolls-Royce was delivered new to William Pinckney Rutter of Utica, New York, on July 28, 1926, wearing Oxford Sedan coachwork created by Brewster. In April 1932, it received its current Playboy Roadster coachwork. The work was performed immediately after it entered the second owner's care. That owner was Elena DeValladares of Larchmont, New York, and the new body was pulled from Brewster's inventory stock in Long Island City, New York.

John Tyson of Royersford, Pennsylvania, owned this Rolls-Royce by 1958, and it remained in his care until 1967. In 1981, the car was purchased by Michael Whitaker of Frankfort, Ohio, and under his care, it was sent to Rolls-Royce restorer Rick Hamlin of Wellington, Kansas. Mr. Whitaker passed away before the restoration was completed and brought the work to an end. The partially completed car remained in his shop for several years before the Whitaker family finally sold it onward to its next custodian in 2011. The Rolls-Royce was sent to marque specialists in the United Kingdom for a concours-level restoration. The work was completed in 2012.

This Rolls-Royce currently wears an Oxford Blue exterior with a dark blue fabric top edged with Oxblood trim and an interior finished in Oxblood leather upholstery. There is a full suite of nickel-plated brightwork, and it retains its numbers-matching 7.7-liter engine.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2023