by Harvey Geiger, HHIC Class Curator

Rolls-Royce and Bentley motor cars will be featured at the 2024 Hilton Head
Concours d’Elegance. Among the rare cars on the show field will be a 1925 Silver Ghost Piccadilly Roadster which was custom-ordered by famed businessman, film producer, and aviator Howard Hughes.

His father was the founder of Hughes Tool Company which made a patented two-cone roller bit for the drilling of oil wells. Enjoying the fruits of being the son of an ultra rich industrialist, Howard’s first car was a 1920 Stutz Bearcat which he purchased when he was 14. With the death of his father in 1924, he inherited control of Hughes Tool at the age of 19 and soon married Ella Rice.

On a Christmas trip to New York that year, he purchased two Rolls-Royce Silver
Ghosts, one for his use and the other for movie star Gloria Swanson who had a
“special relationship” with his deceased father. He specified a lower windshield
and a three piece set of monogrammed luggage for his Piccadilly roadster with
coachwork by Brewster which was manufactured at Rolls-Royce’s plant in
Springfield, Massachusetts. As was the Hughes family practice, he paid the list
price of $13,450 which was almost 50 times more than the cost of a Ford Model T roadster.

The car, with only 13,000 original miles, was purchased in 2014 by its current
caretaker, Guy Lewis from Miami. Returning it to the original colors and
condition, an extensive restoration was completed in 2019.

by Harvey Geiger, HHIC Class Curator

Clara Bow 1929 Rolls-Royce Derby Tourer at the Hilton Head Concours d’Elegance
More than 25 Rolls-Royce and Bentley motor cars will be featured as the Honored Marque at the 2024 Hilton Head Concours d’Elegance on November 3rd. Among the rare cars on display will be a 1925 Silver Ghost Piccadilly Roadster, which was custom ordered by famed businessman, film producer, and aviator Howard Hughes, and a 1929 Derby Tourer which was an engagement gift to screen star Clara Bow.

Clara Bow gained fame as the “It” girl (for those who were too polite to say
“sexy”) and, along with Greta Garbo, Gloria Swanson, and the Gish sisters, was
one of the Marilyn Monroe and Madonna figures of the silent movie era.

She appeared in 46 silent films and 11 talkies and has recently gained contemporary recognition from Taylor Swift, who featured the song "Clara Bow"
on her Tortured Poets Department album as “a commentary on what I’ve seen in the industry that I’ve been in over time.”

As a rolling engagement gift on Valentine’s Day in 1929, cowboy star Rex Bell
presented 26-year-old Clara with a Rolls-Royce built in their American factory in
Springfield, Massachusetts, featuring Derby Tourer coachwork by Brewster. Clara kept the car in Los Angeles until 1933, when she retired to a ranch in Searchlight, Nevada. In the 1950s, the car was sold and subsequently acquired by Thomas Watson Jr., chairman of IBM. When Watson helped found the Owls Head Transportation Museum in Owls Head (Rockland), Maine, Bow’s car became part of the permanent collection.