Finished in the wonderfully of-the-period palette of Walnut with Gold pinstripes, a Cream Everflex roof, and a Beige leather interior, ‘OAS 302R’ started life with Lord Stokes, a man perhaps known best for being the chairman of British Leyland during a large part of its most turbulent decade.

With the highly appropriate family motto of “Speed Well”, Lord Stokes’ 1977 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II, for this, his company car, was even fitted with the Rolls-Royce Handling Package.

Interestingly, he was angling for a Corniche Convertible but got knocked back to ‘only’ a Silver Shadow II.

The poor love.

But don’t feel too sorry for him because, at a time “when Britain was at war with the unions and men standing around braziers held the car industry hostage”, he still found to time to write a testy note (on British Leyland headed paper, no less…) to complain that a fault with his Shadow’s air-conditioning system hadn’t been attended to during its last service, a service that had been, of ...