Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II Drophead Coupé Adaptation by H.J. Mulliner 1962 - World Of Classic Cars -

Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II Drophead Coupé Adaptation by H.J. Mulliner 1962

Amongst the most elegant post-war bodies created for Rolls-Royce was the Silver Cloud II Drophead Coupé by H.J. Mulliner, design number 7504. The car was known as an “adaptation”, and it was created using a factory Standard Steel Saloon body that had been modified into a convertible by removing the steel top, fitting two doors in place of the usual four, and adding a modified chromed waistline moulding. So extensive were Mulliner’s modifications that the resulting car was, in its every detail, essentially a fully custom body, and indeed, the cars were available with the same range of bespoke options available to any Rolls-Royce client—that is to say, anything the buyer desired.

Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II Drophead Coupé Adaptation by H.J. Mulliner 1962

This Cloud II is a remarkable example of an H.J. Mulliner coachbuilt convertible, which is generally accepted to be amongst the most elegant of all post-war coachwork. The accepted term for this H.J. Mulliner Design 7504 is “adaptation”, as the cars were adapted from saloon bodies. Rolls-Royce specialists agree that this was the most popular body H.J. Mulliner ever created. The car shown here, chassis number LSAE639, is the last Silver Cloud II Drophead Coupé adaptation of 107 built, and it is described in the definitive work on these cars, Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining by Davide Bassoli, as “the last one built…gorgeous lines, perfect proportions”.

Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II Drophead Coupé Adaptation by H.J. Mulliner 1962

Copies of its original chassis cards indicate that the car was specially ordered by Boyd Calhoun Hipp, of Greenville, South Carolina, a decorated World War II hero who became a leader in the insurance, finance, and television broadcasting industries. Mr Hipp requested a left-hand-drive, U.S.-specification model with a power radio aerial and windows, the newly developed Rolls-Royce air-conditioning system, and special Sundym glass. Mulliner also installed an array of special features that has been supplied by London coachbuilder Harold Radford, including Perspex sun visors, a fitted locker with an ice thermos in the left-hand door pocket, fitted cocktail bars with three spirit flasks and six tumblers in the backs of the front seats, and most amusingly, removable “toadstool” cushions that affix to the rear bumpers, providing seating for elegant “tailgate” dining in the most literal sense.

Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II Drophead Coupé Adaptation by H.J. Mulliner 1962

Mr Hipp accepted delivery of his Silver Cloud II in England in September 1962, with records indicating that it accompanied him home to New York in the most stylish of fashions, aboard the fabled Cunard liner the HMS Queen Elizabeth.
The car was later restored in previous ownership, and it still presents beautifully in Sand with fine red coachlining and an interior luxuriously trimmed in Magnolia Connolly hides, Cumberland Stone Wilton carpeting, and a Fawn West of England headliner under a fresh mohair top. Correct whitewall tyres augment the car’s chic yet sporting stance. Marque specialists in the UK recently completed a freshening of the car’s mechanical components.
Whether in motion or on concours display, historians generally consider the rare Silver Cloud II coachbuilt cars as offering the best of all Rolls-Royce worlds: superior engineering, fine quality, and timeless design.