Life will be easier for cancer sufferers in Victoria’s Western District following the sale of a rare Rolls-Royce at Shannons Melbourne Spring Auction on September 1.
The beautiful Porcelain White 1973 Rolls-Royce Corniche 2-Door Saloon with its maroon leather and cherry red carpets was the much-loved vehicle of well-known theatre consultant and pioneering lighting designer, Denis Irving, who died at his home in Terang in March this year after a long illness.
The Corniche fulfilled Mr Irving’s lifelong ambition to own a Rolls-Royce – something he ultimately realised after selling his Strand Electric business – but sadly he only managed to drive the car a few times before his health deteriorated.
Because of the joy it brought him in the final months of his life and in appreciation of the care he received during his illness from the Cancer Department of the St John of God Hospital in Warrnambool, all proceeds from the sale of the Rolls-Royce will go to the Hospital’s Day Chemotherapy Unit, where they will be used for the purchase of a number of new treatment chairs for day patients.
The vehicle will be offered for sale with no reserve price and Shannons believe that because of its excellent condition and rarity, it should sell in the $25-$35,000 range.
The Silver Shadow with its monocoque construction was hailed on its launch in 1971 as a landmark model for Rolls-Royce, but it was the new two-door Corniche coupe and convertible models virtually hand-built by H.J.Mulliner Park Ward in tiny numbers that became the classics of the new range.
With just 1,108 fixed-head coupes built out of total Silver Shadow Corniche production of 3,239 vehicles, Shannons say these stylish vehicles make excellent financial sense, as they will ultimately appreciate at a faster rate than the more common four-door model.
Auction info www.shannons.com.au
