Five stunning Rolls‑Royces and Bentleys you shouldn't miss at RM's Amelia Island sale.

Orin Smith’s quest for the most beautiful, rare or just different Rolls and Bentleys resulted in what is one of the world’s most special collections… one we have a chance to savour now that it is for auction. 

RM Sotheby’s will be selling the 22 bespoke models, all without reserve, at an evening event on March 10^th at the start of its Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance sale in Florida. “A Gentleman’s Collection: The Pride and Passion of Orin Smith” also includes many other stars in the 58-car lot, such as the Jet Age Fiat 8V Supersonic and Lancia Pinin Farina special.

But it was really one-off Rolls and Bentleys that he specialised in. Who was Orin Smith? He made his fortune making automotive catalytic converters, indulging his passion for collecting – and winning concours trophies – on his retirement in 2000. A perfectionist famous for demanding meticulous restorations, it is said he was so driven to win show awards he once sent a car back to the restorer seven times before he was happy with it.

Orin Smith died in 2016 but his legacy lives on in some amazing cars. Here are five of our favourites from the sale…

1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Henley Roadster by Brewster

RM Sotheby’s bills the Henley Roadster as “the 250 GTO of the American Rolls-Royce world”, and the crown jewel in the collection. Brewster built 11 copies of the Henley Roadster between 1929 and 1933, for a client list that read like a society who’s who. The body was intended for the Phantom II chassis, but two owners couldn’t wait and had the sexy new style fitted to their Phantom Is. This is one of those cars. The body managed to make the Phantom look positively racy. With no with bad angle to it, the car is often said to be the most beautiful of all the “Springfield” Rolls-Royces.

Presale estimate: $400-500,000 (about £320-400,000).

1938 Rolls-Royce Phantom III All-Weather Tourer by H J Mulliner 

Originally delivered new to an owner in Eire in 1938, it was the car’s second, London-based owner who commissioned H J Mulliner to come up with a more modern cabriolet style body to replace the original Hooper limousine coachwork. The elegant all-weather cabrio design was based on the body Mulliner crafted for General Franco’s Phantom IV, with covered side-mounted spares, long flowing fenders and partial spats. The new body cost three times as much as the car! The 7.3-litre V12-powered car went to the US in 1957, returning to our shores for restoration at P&A Wood in 2005. Since then it has had multiple best in class concours victories, including Pebble Beach and Villa d’Este.

Presale estimate: $500-600,000 (£400-480,000). 

1959 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I Estate by H J Mulliner and Radford

Mulliner and Radford converted just four Silver Cloud Is into luxury shooting-brake-bodied estates as the ultimate gentleman’s car for the hunt. This car, one of two period conversions on a short-wheelbase chassis, was factory left-hand drive for a customer in Wichita, Kansas, who wanted to use it for touring around North America. It was delivered to the US aboard the Queen Elizabeth! The conversion from saloon was perhaps more practical than aesthetic, with rear seats that folded down to make a bed and a two-piece tailgate with Range Rover-style “event seating”. The Rolls has covered well over 100,000 miles but has had only four owners, all in the US, with Orin Smith overseeing the car’s 18-month long restoration.

Presale estimate: $375-475,000 (£300-380,000).

1936 Bentley 4¼-Litre Airflow Saloon by Gurney Nutting

This Bentley beauty was Gurney Nutting’s 1936 Olympia Motor Show car. It is one of just two 4¼-Litre chassis to be fitted with the streamlined Airflow body, as designed by Gurney Nutting’s streamliner pioneer and chief designer, A F McNeil. In its original finish, “steel dust” with grey leather, it went to a first owner in Cornwall before having a succession of owners including “Bunty” Scott-Moncrief. It went to the US in 1967, was turned a striking red with beige upholstery, and today presents with its original restoration, complete with plenty of patina.

Presale estimate: $150-200,000 (£120-160,000).

1947 Bentley Mark VI Cabriolet by Franay 

Here’s a Bentley with plenty of je ne sais quoi. A twice Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance best-in-class winner, this flamboyant MkVI Cabriolet is a Bentley one-off by Carrosserie Franay of Paris, foremost continental coachbuilder of Rolls and Bentley chassis of the early postwar years. Its first French owner sold it to a buyer in the US in 1960, and several owners and a 5000-man hours restoration later it hit the concours circuit – complete with its calfskin upholstery with ostrich skin inserts, folding occasional seats, fitted crystal glasses and a picnic hamper. And why is the car so chocolate brown? That’s easy: the colours were inspired by milk and dark versions of Hershey bars!

Presale estimate: $350-450,000 (£280-360,000). 

Images courtesy of RM Sotheby's