1936 Rolls-Royce 20/25 Shooting Brake
The 20/25 was sold alongside the Phantom II and was offered as more of an economical car. It was the sucessor to the Rolls-Royce Twenty and offerred increased power & acceleration through a larger engine. In many respects the 20 and 20/25 were identical except for the engine. Even the 20/25 powerplant was similar to the Twenties design except far larger displacement (3127cc to 3699cc). The first 20/25 chassis was introduced in 1929, with some 1800 being made until the design was replaced in 1936 by the 25/30.
Throughout the prodcution of the 20/25 chassis, the carburettor, brakes, clutch, spring dampers and ignition were improved. On early examples, the radiator shutters were operated by hand. After 1932, a themostat controlled device operated the radiator air-flow automatically. In 1932 shock absorbers were added to the car which became adjustable in 1934.
It is interesting to note that the 20/25 was sold at 1 100 pounds which was the same price as the earlier 20 and the later 25/30. To stay profitable, Rolls-Royce employed the use of outside suppliers during the late production run of the 20/25. Before this time, only electrical components had been outsourced. Borg & Beck suppled clutches while steering boxes were made by Marleson on late 20/25s. This clearly shows Rolls was trying to keep production costs down at the expense of internal quality control. Such moves helped maintain the price of 1 100 pounds which held from 1922 with the Twenty untill 1938 with the 25/30.












