The introduction of a smaller Rolls-Royce, the 20hp, in 1922 enabled the company to cater for the increasingly important owner-driver market that appreciated the quality of Rolls-Royce engineering but did not need a car as large as a 40/50hp Ghost or Phantom.

The 'Twenty' proved eminently suited to town use yet could cope admirably with Continental touring when called upon.

Its successor, the 20/25hp, introduced in 1929, updated the concept with significant improvements, featuring an enlarged (from 3.1 to 3.7 litres) and more-powerful version of the Twenty's six-cylinder overhead-valve engine.

Produced contemporaneously with the Phantom II, the 20/25 benefited from many of the features, such as synchromesh gears and centralised chassis lubrication, developed for the larger model and would become the best-selling Rolls-Royce of the inter-war period.

The Rolls-Royce 20/25hp was, of course, exclusively a coachbuilt automobile and most of the great British coachbuilding firms offered d...