Rolls-Royce, 1927, 20 Hp

Rolls-Royce “20 hp”, Hooper & Co ltd, 1927

This splendid and rare 1927 Rolls-Royce 20HP was originally delivered as a bare chassis, purchased in January of that year by Captain Thorpe for £1,100 — a considerable sum at the time, especially considering it covered only the mechanical base. As per Rolls-Royce tradition, the car was later “dressed” with a bespoke body by one of the most prestigious coachbuilders: Hooper & Co Ltd, the renowned official supplier to His Majesty the King, the Queen, and the Prince of Wales.
This elegant four-seater torpedo features adjustable front seats, a mahogany dashboard, and rear wind deflectors — optional extras requested by the first owner for an additional £10. The Twenty on display at Museo Nicolis has a unique feature for its era: the side windows are housed within the doors. Usually, they were removable and stored in the trunk, but in this example, by unscrewing a couple of fasteners and lowering the door panel, one can extract the window — made of canvas and transparent plastic — and position it as desired. It was an expensive solution to produce, and Hooper made only a few examples with this feature.
Considered by many to be Sir Henry Royce’s automotive masterpiece, the 20HP represents the perfect balance between artisanal refinement, mechanical quietness, and driving comfort.
Luciano Nicolis acquired it directly from a Rolls-Royce executive, who recounted that the car had been displayed for several months at the entrance of the Goodwood factory. Later, it was driven to Milan without any issue — and over the following five years, it made that round trip three times, a testament to the extraordinary reliability of Rolls-Royce engineering.

Curiosities:
The Two “R”s – The two “R”s of the Rolls-Royce logo are still red, a color that would be replaced by black starting in 1933 — purely for aesthetic reasons. It is also said that the color change was made as a sign of mourning for the death, in that same year, of Henry Royce, co-founder of the marque together with Charles Rolls.
The Spirit of Ecstasy – The iconic symbols of the British manufacturer, such as the Spirit of Ecstasy, continue to evolve: its most recent redesign has refined the mascot’s aerodynamics, adapting it to the new generation of electric models.
The “Quarter-Hour Test” – Every engine underwent a rigorous 15-minute full-throttle test before being approved for delivery. If even the slightest irregular sound was detected, the engine was completely disassembled and rechecked from scratch.
Silence as a Trademark – The 20HP was described by the British press of the time as “the silent car.” In 1922, The Autocar magazine wrote that “the loudest noise coming from a Rolls-Royce is the ticking of the driver’s wristwatch.”
The Meaning of “20HP” – The number “20” did not refer to the engine’s actual power output, but to the fiscal horsepower used to calculate car taxes in the United Kingdom. In reality, its 3.1-liter engine produced about 48 actual horsepower — more than enough to reach 80 km/h.