Rolls-Royce shooting brake commissioned by John Entwistle of The Who goes to auction
In the manner typical of a rock star, The Who’s John Entwistle never learnt to drive. Instead, the legendary bass player bought cars because he liked to “drink in them”. One – specially adapted to suit an Irish Wolfhound named Fits Perfectly and several Rottweilers – is due at auction on 7th September.
The car John Entwistle commissioned the conversion of into a shooting brake was a 1980 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II. The coachbuilder is not known but it is suspected that it could have been FLM (Panelcraft) Limited of South London. A friend of the star, rock journalist Lesley Ann Jones, recalled a conversation about the vehicle’s original colour – it is now in brown – in a 2007 article in the Mail Online:
Two stories to keep beside you
Entwistle shooting brake rolls off for nearly £45,000
Former John Entwistle Rolls-Royce shooting brake sells for £43,700 John Entwistle of The Who was a man who bought cars “to drink in” given that he never learnt to drive. A Rolls-Royce shooting brake that he commissioned in 1980 that The Steeple Times recently featured sold today at Bonhams for £43,700 including premium.
Finding Your Station
1937 Bentley shooting brake formerly owned by Mulberry founder Roger Saul to be auctioned today at Goodwood Revival sale Today at their annual Goodwood Revival sale in Sussex, Bonhams will auction a whole array of cars. Amongst lots offered is a striking 1937 Bentley that was rebodied as a ‘Woodie’ shooting brake circa 1950. […]
“I had never seen a Rolls-Royce that shade of green before, I told him. ‘Neither has anyone’, said John. ‘I took a Harrods carrier bag to the bodyshop when I bought the car, and told the paint sprayer to match it’”.
In the feature, Jones also recounts a journey she took with Entwistle to Wembley where she sat with Fit’s Perfectly (the dog) in the Rolls-Royce’s boot drinking brandy but after the musician’s death, whilst being driven by one of his girlfriends, Lisa Pritchett-Johnson, in 2003 the vehicle was stopped by the police. Pritchett-Johnson – who tragically died of a cocaine overdose in 2005 in Memphis, Tennessee – was cautioned for the possession of cocaine and banned from driving for two years.
Subsequently, Entwistle’s family sold the car to the present owner in 2006. They commissioned Coway Coachbuilders of Bolton, Lancashire to refurbish it and have continued to maintain it through the recognised Rolls-Royce mechanical engineer Alastair Scott of Abernethy, Perthshire. It has said “not [to have given] any trouble” during this period and 115,000 miles are recorded on the clock.
Of the vehicle, a spokesman for Bonhams, who are selling the car, commented:
“There was never an official factory-bodied estate version of the Shadow but that did not deter those wealthy enough from commissioning their own. The car has been kept at an estate in Perthshire, Scotland where it was mainly used for grouse shooting, and has been garage stored in a ‘bubble’ to maintain ideal air temperature”.
A guide price of just £12,000 to £16,000 has been set.
Subscribe to our free once daily email newsletter here:[contact-form-7 id=”225″ title=”Contact form 1″]
Readers have their say
2 comments
What a beauty.
Sold for £43,700 including premium. http://thesteepletimes.com/opulence-splendour/entwistle-shooting-brake-rolls-nearly-45000/