Coys Auction
Ascot Racecourse,
Berkshire SL5 7JX
Saturday 2 October 2010 at 3pm
By the late 1920s, the trend for ever-heavier coachwork on the Rolls-Royce 20hp had inevitably had a detrimental effect on performance. Rolls-Royce's solution was to increase the comparatively small six cylinder engine's capacity from just over three litres to 3,699cc which, together with a stronger crankshaft allowing increased rpm, raised its output to 25hp.
As with the 20hp, the 20/25 was warmly received and proved immensely popular, soon more than doubling sales of the big Phantom II. Various detail improvements were made to the 20/25 during its seven year production life including rises in compression ratio in 1930 and 1932; the latter year also saw the introduction of synchromesh for the third and fourth gear ratios, thermostatically controlled radiator grille shutters, a one-shot centralised lubrication system and an electric fuel gauge. Bodywork was supplied by a number of coachbuilder but in this i