"Sir Ken Adam" 1959 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I for sale

A white Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I, previously owned by James Bond production designer Sir Ken Adam, is currently offered for sale at Cheshire Classic Cars in the UK for £299,995. Sir Ken owned the car for 40 years, from 1975 until 2015.

Ken Adam's Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I Drophead Coupé
photo by Cheshire Classic Cars

The 1959 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I Drophead Coupé Adaptation by H.J. Mulliner is one of just thirteen of its type produced, and one of three right-hand-drive versions.

Ken Adam's Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I Drophead Coupé right-hand drive interior
photo by RM Sothebys

The car has a Porcelain White color and red leather interior with wool carpeting and wood veneer trim, all of which is believed to be original.

Ken Adam's Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I Drophead Coupé right hand drive interior
photo by RM Sothebys

In July 1959 the Rolls was delivered to A. Robert Gooda, of Goodhale Engineering Ltd., who was a devout Bentley and Rolls-Royce enthusiast and a great customer of the factory.

Mr Gooda owned his Silver Cloud I until 1975, when it was sold to its second owner, Sir Ken Adam, the renowned British film production designer who is best remembered for his work on the classic James Bond films.

Berlin-born Sir Ken Adam (1921 - 2016) designed sets of many of the first Bond films from Dr. No to Moonraker, and has been credited with creating the Bond "look" on screen. Sir Ken has been nominated three times for an Academy Award and has won twice for Best Art Direction.

Ken Adam with his Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I Drophead Coupé

Sir Ken was a great fan of this Rolls-Royce, and for many years during his long career, the car was shipped to wherever he was working, all over the world. it is said that even when he travelled to Hollywood the Silver Cloud I followed him, accompanied by its own driver. It was a common sight in the movie studios' backlots in Hollywood.

Sir Ken Adam and his wife came in the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I to the Bond Stars event "Goldfinger - The Reunion" on 13th April 2008 at Pinewood Studios, seen here about to drive away on Goldfinger Avenue
photo by Bond Lifestyle (with apologies for the bad quality photo)

In a 2015 article in art magazine Frieze.com, Sir Ken Adam names his Rolls-Royce as his 'Das Ding' ('single object of special significance from his working or living environment'):

"My ‘Das Ding’ is a white Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I convertible. One night, many years ago, I saw it in the window of a used car dealership near my house. The next day I went in to buy it but they told me: ‘you’re not the right person for this Rolls.’ And I said: ‘well, how do you know?’ Actually, the man who ran the business was very nice. He was an old ex-naval commander, and I was pretty young. He just thought it was not the right type of car for me – that I was more of ‘a sports car person’. Still I thought the Rolls was very pretty and so I bought it anyway. It cost something like £20,000, which I could afford – I can’t remember exactly how much.

I’ve always loved cars. I’ve had E-Type Jaguars and a Mercedes 540K. The Mercedes was super-charged which was fantastic even though it guzzled so much petrol, which was a problem after WWII because of the fuel rationing. I guess a two-door Rolls-Royce convertible is something like their sports car version; or as close to a sports car a Rolls can get.

Until recently I used the Rolls more or less every day; for example to go to the swimming pool, a 15-minute drive from my house. Now I don’t really need it anymore so I keep it in the garage. I have only pleasant memories of my Rolls. I can’t remember that it ever let me down. I’ve used it all over Europe: I drove with it to Italy and Spain, to France, everywhere. It has travelled over 250,000 miles. But it never got me to Germany."

Ken Adam's Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I Drophead Coupé
photo by RM Sothebys

On 7 september 2015, this Rolls was offered on a RM Sotheby's Auction by Sir Ken Adam himself, and sold for £218,400. The car is now for sale at Cheshire Classic Cars for £299,995.

Thanks to Morten Steingrimsen for the alert