This 1952 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith is a long wheelbase 7-passenger limousine. It was special ordered through famed New York Rolls-Royce dealer J.S. Inskip by Cornelius Vanderbilt ‘CV’ Whitney, grandson of wealthy industrialist Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt. This is one of only 24 left hand designs bodied by H.J. Mulliner. This Silver Wraith was shipped from Liverpool to Montreal on the Empress of France in July 1952, to serve as the Rolls-Royce 1952 Toronto Show car. The limousine was thereafter delivered to ‘CV’ at his Park Avenue, New York address. In 1927, ‘CV’, a successful businessman and philanthropist in his own right, backed Juan Trippe in forming Pan Am. He later financed the 1939 film Gone with the Wind and several other motion pictures. He served President Truman as Assistant Secretary of the Air Force and Undersecretary of Commerce. After marrying 4 times, ‘CV’ died in 1992 at the age of 93. This Silver Wraith has been used in multiple major motion pictures, including Batman Returns.
A subsequent owner, Jim O’Toole, did a full restoration in 1979. In the late 1990’s the car was owned by Herb Cohen, a music producer in Los Angeles, who played a pivotal role in the counter-culture music scene. This car was subjected to a ground up restoration in 2013. It is powered by a 280 cubic-inch six-cylinder engine.
