1926 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost

1926 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost Piccadilly Roadster, S315RK
by James Evans
Made in USA
1:8 scale

Completely scratch built model by James Evans, circa 1980. This spectacular, one-of-a-kind model was custom built for R. K. "Rick" Carroll. It was part of his significant collection of 1:1 classic cars and fine automotive memorabilia. The real car was originally built in 1926 for U.S. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer of Washington, DC.

The model is an exact replica of this Piccadilly Roadster S315RK when it was part of Carroll's collection.
Rick Carroll had an extensive collection of superb classic cars, predominantly Rolls Royce and Duesenberg. He also had a significant collection of fine automotive memorabilia, and this one-off Rolls Royce model is just one example. Collecting classic automobiles and memorabilia was a true passion of his.
This impressive work measures 28 inches in length. It is made mostly of metal; brass, steel, and aluminum, along with some wood, leather, rubber and canvas parts. Highly detailed all around including full underside detail, and it has many working features. We estimate that a couple of thousand parts were made to create this, and the workmanship is that of a true craftsman/artist. Little is known about James Evans the model maker. We believe that he was most likely a mechanic and model maker, possibly employed by Carroll. Regardless, the model is one of the more impressive pieces you will ever see, and was made completely by hand at a time when 3D scanning and printing simply did not exist. As with Wingrove, this is old world craftsmanship at its finest.

We have spent a great amount of time examining this marvelous miniature Rolls, and were surprised by some of the functional details such as the locked golf bag storage compartment door on the right side. To open this door we used a jewelers screw driver, inserted into the key lock we turned it, and presto...it opened. The vent on the cowl in front of the windshield opens and closes, front wheels turn left & right linked to the steering wheel.

Exterior door handles turn to lock/unlock & open. The hood (bonnet) is double hinged, but made and designed as a lift off piece to fully view the engine. Note that the Rumble seat is fixed in the open position. The interior pedals are sprung.....and the floorboard is removable allowing you to see the pedal mechanisms and a great deal of other detail. Suspension is somewhat functional too....more on that in a moment.

Some of the numerous other details of note are things like the wheel nuts which are engraved with ROLLS ROYCE and little curved arrows, hand stitched upholstered leather interior and rumble seat, hand stitched canvas top, terrific hand spoked wire wheels with raised letter Kelly-Springfield tires, fully detailed dashboard with all switchgear and gauges, hand carved mascot, detailed engine, hand engraved RR on the glass of both side mounted spotlights, and the list goes on.

Condition is extremely good. The hand formed all metal body shows a little of its age as is expected with a piece around 40 years old, but this model truly wears its very mild/minimal patina very well. Some of the plated and raw metal parts show a little age, some of it due to various past climate conditions. The Suspension is also functional, but due to its age and rather massive weight it has some separation on the left rear which may be able to be somewhat adjusted/fixed a little. We do not suggest playing a lot with this, and quite honestly it does not detract one little bit from the appearance and overall quality of this piece. This model really is an amazingly well crafted.

The model comes with its original wood and acrylic display case. It is a heavy piece with a combined weight of the model & case coming in at about 35 LBS.
$22,500.