Maharaja of Rajkot’s 1934 Rolls Royce to become world’s most expensive car
August 19th, 2009 - 1:47 pm ICT by ANILondon, Aug 19 (ANI): A custom-built Rolls Royce that once belonged to the Maharaja of Rajkot is set to become the world’s most expensive car when it goes under the hammer in Germany.
The car, known as the Star of India, is expected to fetch 8.5 million pounds at the auction being conducted by the Rolls-Royce Museum at Muhlheim, reports the Telegraph.
The luxury car, built in 1934, has a number of features, which were considered unique at the time including headlights, which are controlled by the steering wheel and track the vehicle’s progress in the road.
Similar technology - now called “adaptive curve lights” - is featured on a number of cars today including BMW’s and Mercedes.
The price raised for 1934 Phantom II 40/50 HP Continental “All-Weather Convertible” is expected to exceed the 7.2 million pounds paid for a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa at an auction in May.
It is part of famed Rolls-Royce collector Hans-Gunther Zach’s private collection, and bids are being invited until September 15.
Zach is accepting bids on 24 other rare Rolls-Royce’s and three Bentleys including a 1926 Rolls-Royce 40/50 HP Phantom I Open Tourer, built for the Maharaja of Nanpara in India and known as the “Aluminium Sculpture” because of its natural aluminium body and chassis.
Also up for grabs is a Phantom II Cabriolet “Hunting Car” built for the India’s Maharaja of Rewa. Designed to hunt India’s tigers, the “Hunting Car’ has a specially designed gun rack built into the chassis. (ANI)
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Tags: aluminium body, bentleys, cabriolet, chassis, expensive car, ferrari 250, gun rack, gunther, headlights, luxury car, maharaja, muhlheim, phantom ii, private collection, rajkot, rewa, rolls royce, star of india, steering wheel, testa rossa