You’ll soon be able to cruise around town just like Michael Caine.
A 1968 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow Two-Door Drophead Coupé that once belonged to the iconic actor will be auctioned off by H & H Classics next month in England, according to Hagerty. The slick convertible’s provenance may be what makes headlines, but it’s also been beautifully restored and would be a wonderful addition to any collector’s garage.
Caine’s history with his Silver Shadow—which also happens to have been his first car—is charmingly peculiar. Legend has it that the actor bought the car brand new while running errands in London one day. (His shopping list supposedly read “milk, bread, newspaper, cigarettes, Rolls-Royce.”) The star’s career was on the rise at the time, so it’s little wonder he had his eye on such a glamorous ride. He didn’t actually have a license, though, so he was forced to hire a chauffeur to drive and follow him around town. The car can actually be seen obediently trailing behind the actor while he takes a stroll through the British capital in the 1969 short film Candid Caine: A Self-Portrait of Michael Caine.
“One of my great pleasures is just to go for a walk; just walk along on my own,” he says late in the film. “I’m also lazy and sybaritic, so I have a little bit of comfort just behind me in case I want to pop in.”
As taken as he may have been with the car, Caine didn’t hold onto it for too long. He sold it to Jack Leach, the owner of the famous Gasworks, a restaurant frequented by members of the royal family, celebrities and even mobsters, according to the auction house. The car became a familiar sight around Chelsea and remained in Leach’s possession until his death in 2013. It has spent the proceeding decade mainly in storage, though it did undergo a thorough restoration that include an engine overhaul and repaint during that time.
Caine’s former Silver Shadow is scheduled to go up for bid on Wednesday, March 15, at the Imperial War Museum in Cambridgeshire. The gorgeous two-door is expected to sell for between £100,000 and £150,000 (or about $122,000 to $182,000), which potentially isn’t much more than the £80,000 the actor paid for the vehicle originally.
