Freddie Mercury’s 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow heads to public sale

A 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow owned by Queen frontman Freddie Mercury is heading to public sale with RM Sotheby’s on November 5, with proceeds from the sale going to the Superhumans Middle, a charity offering help to Ukraine.

Whereas the Silver Chalice-painted sedan was registered in the UK when it was new, it did not enter Mercury’s orbit till 1979, when it was bought by the rock star’s manufacturing firm, Goos Productions Ltd., the itemizing says. Whereas Mercury was possible chauffered within the Rolls, he in all probability by no means drove it himself as a result of he seemingly by no means received a license.

The automobile is accompanied by paperwork supporting its connection to Mercury, together with workshop invoices within the singer’s identify, different paperwork within the identify of his former companion Mary Austin, and a letter from longtime Queen supervisor Jim Seaside confirming Mercury’s possession.

Produced from 1965 to 1980, the Silver Shadow was a giant technological step ahead for Rolls. The Shadow (and associated Bentley T-Collection) had unibody building quite than the body-on-frame building of earlier fashions, together with a hydraulic self-leveling suspension system licensed from Citroën.

Energy is offered by the ever present Rolls-Royce/Bentley L-Collection V-8, which began at 6.3 liters when the Silver Shadow launched, however was later enlarged to six.8 liters (this automobile has the larger-displacement model). Iterations of this engine—with digital gasoline injection and turbocharging—continued in manufacturing till 2020.

After Mercury’s loss of life in November 1991, the Silver Shadow was pushed by the late rock star’s sister Kashmira Cooke, who purchased the automobile from the Freddie Mercury Property in 2003. It was then auctioned off in 2013, when it was purchased by the present proprietor. The itemizing notes that the automobile has been saved for awhile, and needs to be inspected earlier than being pushed.

RM Sotheby’s expects the Silver Shadow to promote for between 20,000 and 30,000 British kilos, equal to $22,539 to $33,808 at present alternate charges. Even these comparatively low estimates possible replicate this automobile’s movie star connection. The Silver Shadow’s lengthy manufacturing run makes it comparatively frequent for a Rolls-Royce, so values have by no means been notably excessive.