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Originally an experimental 'test car', numbered 27-G-VI, this car was prepared by the factory in 1939 and became one of the very first production models (re-numbered WXA6) when the Wraith was introduced to the public. The car is handsome, sound, in fine condition, with an imposing and attractive frontal aspect, featuring an impressive array of correct lamps and horns. The car has been well cared for by one family since 1997, and we have a complete ownership record prior to that. Also in the file is a buff logbook from 1949, various documentation, old MoT certificates and invoices confirming £32,000 of expenditure during the last ownership. Nicely correct, with particularly appealing brown leather interior, excellent headlining, carpets and wood veneers and a sliding sunroof. Some of the beige paintwork is losing adhesion, on one side of the car, and ideally will need attention in the near future, but the panels are totally sound, and this does not prevent the car from being used and enjoyed. Running and driving well, offered serviced, prepared and newly MoT tested.
Chassis No. WXA6 Reg No. RC 5447
Snippets: Australian Estates, Beech's Chocolates & a Russian Surgeon
After being used as an experimental car (original chassis Nr 27-G-VI) WXA6 was sold to its first private owner, Lt. Col. Reginald George Stanham just prior to the outbreak of WWII. His wife was an Australian - Helen MacArthur - whose family imported the first merino sheep to Australia in 1796. When her father James Macarthur-Onslow died in 1945 she and her husband sold up and moved back to the family home Camden Park - a property with some 80 rooms and still owned by members of the MacArthur family. The 2nd owner was Captain Roger Cookson, the 4th son of George Cookson of Treslissick, Cornwall. Two of Roger's older brothers died when they were just 25, in 1907 Geoffrey succumbed to the plague whilst serving with the King's Royal Rifles in Jubbulpore, India & in 1909 Christopher drowned whilst stationed with the 1st Battalion Rifle Brigade at Holywood. Roger's other sibling - George - joined the Royal Flying Corps and in 1918 he was mentioned in despatches. Media reports of the time refer to Roger Cookson as being a racing driver for the Bentley Team but we've yet to find evidence of this. In 1913 he married Sybil Taylor (an author & journalist) they had two daughters - Georgina, who became an actress & Patricia who became a princess with her 2nd marriage to Henry Aymon Marle Rodolphe (Prince de Faucigny-Lucinge et Coligny). In 1944 WXA6 was bought by George Bankoff a British surgeon of Russian origin who wrote some 120 books under various pseudonyms - these varied from politics, history, medical and fiction & a biography of his father Ivan entitled "One Russian's Story". After just 12 months it was then bought by Edward W Collinson who in 1949 sold WXA6 to his own company (Beech's Chocolates) in order to buy WCB45! Sadly in 1949 whilst on holiday in Scarborough, he fell down a 200ft cliff and didn't survive, WXA6 remained with the family firm until 1955 until it was bought by Herbert Kaiser of de Oude Plaats, Corbridge. Herbert worked in Singapore where he was GM of Straits Steamship (Engineering Division) and later Chairman of Watt & Akkermans one of their subsidiaries. The 1990s saw WXA6 with Rami Elle, whose tailoring business "Elle 1981" included African Chiefs, Oil Sheikhs, royalty & government officials amongst their client list.
V5 Registration Document; Sunroof; Safety Belt Pretensioners
About Us: The Real Car Company was established in 1987 by Ray Arnold & Ian Johnstone. It was a hobby that 'Got out of hand'. Our interest in cars of the type that we now sell goes back to our childhoods, and ownership back to the 1970's. Gradually more cars started passing through our hands, and by 1986 we had decided to make a full time occupation of buying and selling the cars that we love.
We started with a single car (all we could afford) which we sold quickly, and before we knew it we had 4 or 5 on our hands! This was alongside another business that we were involved in at the time. In the Spring of 1988 we gave up the other business, (exhaust systems), rented part of the premises that we still operate from now, and went full time.
We had a good start in the boom years of the late eighties, which set us up well enough for us to ride the storm of recession in the years that followed. As the years went on the number of cars going through our hands increased gradually, we built up a workforce, and we now carry a stock of around 40 to 50 vehicles and there are nine of us here. In 1999 we were awarded 'International Classic Car Dealer of the Year' by Classic Cars Magazine. The market for 'our' kind of cars is nicely stable, generally prices are creeping upwards all the time, and we feel that investing in a car - or cars - of the type that we sell is generally a great place to put your money. Don't do it just for investment, but you can get a great deal of pleasure from these vehicles, prices are - in our opinion - unlikely to drop, and you can't drive a share certificate! Some prices in the last three or four years have moved up considerably, and these cases have shown a tremendous return on investment.
Over the last fifteen years or so we have brought home several hundred cars from the USA, and we are always looking for more. If you know of a Rolls-Royce or Bentley anywhere in the world, in absolutely any condition, please let us know. Distance no object, commissions happily paid. We always particularly enjoy the 'barn finds'.
Opening Hours: Mo: 09:00 AM to 05:00 PM Tu: 09:00 AM to 05:00 PM We: 09:00 AM to 05:00 PM Th: 09:00 AM to 05:00 PM Fr: 09:00 AM to 05:00 PM Sa: Closed Su: Closed
Why buy from us? * Classic Cars * Over 30 years in business * Cars are physically at our premises * Lovely roads to test drive on * Our reputation
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