Brown 1970s Rolls-Royces aren’t rare in Britain. What makes this one different is the list of owners on its paperwork: the founder of Tesco, then Noel Gallagher, who by his own account couldn’t drive it.
The car is a 1978 Silver Shadow II, registration DEV 851T and chassis SRH 35177. It crosses the block as Lot 203 at Iconic Auctioneers’ sale during the NEC Classic Motor Show in Birmingham on Saturday, November 14. The estimate is £25,000 to £30,000.
Four owners, one Tesco founder
The first owner was Sir Jack Cohen, the founder of Tesco, who bought it new from Southend Motor & Aero Company. He died on March 24, 1979, so he had it for less than six months. Clive Ross-Field of Chigwell bought it in January 1980 and kept it for about 15 years, and the history file shows Rolls-Royce servicing during that time.
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Then came Oasis. The auction house says Creation Records boss Alan McGee secretly bought the car and gave it to Noel at a 1995 Christmas party at the Halcyon Hotel in Holland Park, while the other band members got Rolex watches. The sales invoice is dated December 14, 1995. The old V5C included in the sale lists the keeper as “Oasis Music, Mr Noel Gallagher” and carries his signature.
Gallagher summed up the deal on Jonathan Ross’s show in 2004: “Liam got a Rolex. I got a Rolls-Royce. Which is brilliant, cos I can’t drive, and Liam can’t tell the time.”
The car’s best-documented moment came on July 30, 1997. It carried Gallagher, Meg Matthews, McGee and Kate Holmes to Tony Blair’s “Cool Britannia” reception at 10 Downing Street. From the mid-2000s it saw less use and was laid up for several years. The current owner, only the fourth in 48 years, bought it in 2012.
What the money buys
It’s finished in Chestnut Brown over Champagne Beige hide, is right-hand drive and automatic, and showed 63,773 miles when it was consigned. Since 2012 it has been resprayed in its original Chestnut and given a new Everflex vinyl roof, new carpets and new whitewall tyres. It has been kept indoors and serviced by a former Rolls-Royce mechanic. The original book pack and handbook are included.
The listing has no independent inspection report and doesn’t mention MOT status. Two blanks a bidder will want filled.
Why the Shadow II matters, and what can go wrong
The Silver Shadow was a big change for Crewe. Rolls-Royce’s own heritage history describes a body and floorpan built as one unit, with the mechanical parts carried on subframes. It also had four-wheel hydraulic disc brakes and self-levelling rear suspension. The 1977 Shadow II update added rack-and-pinion steering, revised suspension settings, split-level air conditioning and a new dashboard.
That sophistication is what makes the car expensive to own. The brakes and the self-levelling suspension share a high-pressure hydraulic system, and a car that spent years laid up needs that system checked carefully. That means the accumulators, the pumps, the brake hoses and the state of the fluid. If the rear of the car sits low after it has been running a while, the self-levelling system needs work.
Unibody cars of this age also rust in hidden places: sills, subframe mounts and wheel arches. A fresh respray can look great while hiding exactly that kind of damage. A buyer bidding at this level should arrange a specialist inspection on a lift before sale day.
Doing the maths
Iconic charges a buyer’s premium of 12.5% plus VAT, which comes to 15% including VAT. Hammering at the low estimate means paying £28,750. At the top of the estimate it’s £34,500.
For comparison, the same auction house sold a well-documented 1978 Shadow II in May 2020 for £17,600. That suggests most of the price here is for the Oasis history, not the car itself.
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Insurance gets awkward here. A standard classic valuation won’t cover the celebrity premium, so the winner needs an agreed-value policy backed by the signed V5C and the 1995 invoice. Lose those and it’s an ordinary Shadow II.
Tax and MOT
Because the car was built in 1978, it falls under the UK’s historic vehicle rules. It can be exempt from vehicle tax, and it can be exempt from the annual MOT as long as it hasn’t been substantially changed. A respray, new carpets and a new roof covering don’t count as substantial changes. The owner is still legally responsible for keeping it roadworthy, though, and an optional MOT costs very little compared with the bill for a failed hydraulic system.
The takeaway
If all you want is a Silver Shadow II, cheaper ones exist. This one costs extra for the Oasis name, and the paperwork backs the name up. Would you pay a Noel premium for a brown Rolls, or is it the Downing Street run you’re really bidding on?
Images Via: Iconic auctioneers
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