Buy Uncle Monty's Rolls

Release time：2024-05-18 02:17:45 Source：Culture Canvas news portal

The vintage Rolls-Royce driven by mad Uncle Monty in the cult classic film Withnail and I has gone on sale for £135,000.

The 1953 Silver Wraith features in the famous scene in which Richard E Grant and Paul McGann drunkenly terrorise the elderly patrons of a Penrith tearoom in the 1987 British black comedy.

Before they can be arrested for accosting the tea shop's proprietor, the pair are spirited away in the Rolls by Uncle Monty, played by the late Harry Potter star Richard Griffiths.

The rare post-war Rolls-Royce recently underwent renovations costing £188,000 and has won best in class awards at classic car events - with prospective owners in with a chance to 'purchase a true piece of British motoring history'.

The 1953 Silver Wraith features in the famous scene in which Richard E Grant and Paul McGann drunkenly terrorise the elderly patrons of a Penrith tearoom in the 1987 British black comedy

Before they can be arrested for accosting the tea shop's proprietor, the pair are spirited away in the Rolls by Uncle Monty, played by the late Harry Potter star Richard Griffiths

The rare post-war Rolls-Royce recently underwent renovations costing £188,000 and has won 'best in class' awards at classic car events

Withnail and I is routinely regarded as being among the finest British movies ever made and has achieved cult classic status among fans around the world

The car was used in filming for Withnail and I between August and December 1986 and the film, directed by Bruce Robinson, was released on 1 January 1987. 

It has achieved cult classic status among fans around the world.

The film sees two out-of-work actors who share a flat in Camden Town in 1969 head off for a disastrous attempt at a holiday in the Lake District.

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Richard E Grant and Paul McGann take the leads as the boozy thesps, while the late Richard Griffiths - known for his role as Vernon Dursley in the Harry Potter films - plays Withnail's wealthy and flamboyant Uncle Monty.

The film is routinely regarded as being among the finest British movies ever made.

In 1999, the British Film Institute voted Withnail and I the 29th greatest British film of all time.

In a 2017 poll of 150 actors, directors, writers, producers and critics for Time Out magazine it was ranked the 15th best British film ever.

The line 'we want the finest wines available to humanity, we want them here and we want them now', drunkenly delivered by Richard E Grant in the Penrith tearoom, was voted the third favourite film one-liner in a 2003 poll of 1,000 film fans.

The maroon and gold 1953 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith Hooper Sedanca is complete with chrome trim and is decked out inside with reptile skin on the dashboard.

Richard E Grant and Paul McGann take the leads as the boozy thesps, while the late Richard Griffiths - known for his role as Vernon Dursley (left) in the Harry Potter films - plays Withnail's wealthy and flamboyant Uncle Monty

The car has a speedometer fitted in the rear passenger seats as the former owner 'liked his chauffeurs to drive in a brisk manner' and wanted to 'keep an eye on his employee's progress'

Powered by a smooth 4257cc six-cylinder engine allied to four-speed manual transmission, when it went on sale the model appealed to both owner-drivers and passengers alike

The car was used in filming for the black British comedy Withnail and I between August and December 1986

It also has a speedometer fitted in the rear passenger seats of the car as the former owner 'liked his chauffeurs to drive in a brisk manner' and wanted to 'keep an eye on his employee's progress'.

Uncle Monty isn't the only colourful character to have driven the car, as it was originally owned by the extravagant Armenian-born business magnate Nubar Gulbenkian, who is thought to have been the wealthiest man in the world at one stage.

Mr Gulbenkian was a flamboyant man and is noted for bringing a $10million (£7.95million) lawsuit against his father over the cost of a $4.50 (£3.50 lunch) of chicken in tarragon jelly.

Uncle Monty,  played by Richard Griffiths (left), isn't the only colourful character to have driven the car, as it was originally owned by the extravagant Armenian-born business magnate Nubar Gulbenkian (right), who is thought to have been the wealthiest man in the world at one stage

The maroon and gold 1953 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith Hooper Sedanca is complete with chrome trim and is decked out inside with reptile skin on the dashboard

In April 1946 the first post-war model from Rolls-Royce was revealed to the public as the elegant Silver Wraith

Nubar Gulbenkian was noted for his long beard and monocle and he lived an eccentric life. His character was summed up by a friend who claimed that 'Nubar is so tough that every day he tires out three stockbrokers, three horses and three women'

The Harrow and Cambridge educated Armenian-British socialite was living in France when Germany invaded in 1940 and became an agent for the British intelligence agency MI9, helping to repatriate British airmen who became stranded in France.

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Mr Gulbenkian was noted for his long beard and monocle and he lived an eccentric life. 

His character was summed up by a friend who claimed that 'Nubar is so tough that every day he tires out three stockbrokers, three horses and three women'. 

He died in January 1972 in Cannes, France.

The Rolls-Royce is being offered for sale through Vintage & Prestige Classic Cars of Northampton.

Of the car, the sellers said: 'This Silver Wraith was ordered by the Armenian born Nubar Gulbenkian, a flamboyant character who had a huge passion for unique cars. 

'His passion was Rolls-Royces and his preferred coachbuilder was Hooper.

'Gulbenkian is understood to have had four Silver Wraiths commissioned by Hooper, this example is delightfully handsome, being built on a long wheelbase chassis and in the style of a Hooper Empress Line coachwork.'

• Vintage & Prestige - Vintage Rolls Royce For Sale

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