The 1928 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Ascot Twin Cowl Sport Phaeton used within the 1974 film adaptation of the traditional F. Scott Fitzgerald novel “The Nice Gatsby” is headed to public sale. It is a part of Worldwide Auctioneers’ upcoming Auburn, Indiana, sale, scheduled for Sept. 1-3.
The Rolls was prominently featured within the film, which starred Robert Redford as enigmatic aristocrat Jay Gatsby. Following the plot of the novel, Gatsby was a rich Roaring Twenties partier trying to win the center of Daisy Buchanan (performed by Mia Farrow), and his automotive was a part of that characterization.
Robert Redford and the 1928 Rolls-Royce from
Fitzgerald made Gatsby a Rolls proprietor. Within the novel, he describes Gatsby’s Rolls as “a wealthy cream coloration, brilliant with nickel, swollen right here and there in its monstrous size with triumphant hat-boxes and supper-boxes and gear packing containers, and terraced with a labyrinth of wind-shields that mirrored a dozen suns.”
This automotive—chassis S304KP—was maybe chosen for the film position as a result of it options Twin Cowl Sport Phaeton bodywork from coachbuilder Ascot, with the a number of windshields described within the e book. It was repainted and had its inside upholstery dyed inexperienced to match the outline within the novel. It was additionally not too long ago given a “no-expense-spared restoration,” in accordance with the public sale itemizing.
As a Phantom I, this automotive is the ancestor of Rolls’ present flagship. Its inline-6 engine doubtless appeared spectacular within the Twenties, however to take care of its luxurious top-dog standing, at the moment’s Phantom makes use of a 6.75-liter twin-turbocharged V-12 producing 563 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque. Coachbuilt bodywork is now not the norm, other than occasional particular editions just like the trio of Boat Tail convertibles.
No pre-auction estimate was revealed, however a film connection can usually elevate the value of a automotive. The 1949 Buick Roadmaster convertible from “Rain Man” offered for $335,000 earlier this yr, and the “Wayne’s World” 1976 AMC Pacer netted $71,500 at public sale. As a prewar Rolls, the “Gatsby” automotive would doubtless entice some consideration at an public sale by itself, so it might generate a big sum.
