A Cloud with a Silver Lining: The 1963 Rolls Royce

The Petersen Automotive Museum publishes the Petersen Quarterly, which keeps us up-to-date on the newest developments at one of our very favorite automotive museums.  The most recent issue featured coverage of the newest donations to the museum, this time in the form of a gorgeous 1963 Silver Cloud III, formerly owned by Evans and John Frankenheimer.  The Petersen provides superb detail on this daily driver, which saw more of the world than most of us ever will..."Four-time Emmy award winner John Frankenheimer, director of 51 films including iconic car movies such as Grand Prix (1966) and Ronin (1998, one of our very favorite movies!), purchased this elegant Rolls-Royce while on a break from filming The Train (1964) on location in France.  After traveling to London for a brief visit with his tailor, Frankenheimer and Evans walked across the street in a pouring rain to visit the local Rolls-Royce dealer.  On display were a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III and a Bentley.  After checking with Evans to make sure it was to her liking, Frankenheimer ordered a Rolls-Royce on the spot for his wife as a belated wedding present.Electing to pay for the car in cash, Frankenheimer was carrying only francs and could not exchange them for pounds because it was the weekend.  As a result, the cash was locked in the glove boxes of the cars in the showroom for safekeeping.  Evans named the Rolls-Royce Victoria after the Queen of England and owned it for 50 years, during which time the couple took it on four trips to Europe and to movie sets around the world.  The lovingly maintained Rolls-Royce joins several other vehicles the Frankenheimers have donated to the museum, including a 1947 Oldsmobile and a pair of matching Mercedes-Benz custom cars."Nice wedding present, don't you think?  I love to see a car that has been absolutely beloved by its owners, and this Silver Cloud certainly fits that description.  Thank goodness it is at the Petersen for us to enjoy!