1960 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud II
Car Profiles

Feature: 1960 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II

“Pardon me, would you have any Grey Poupon?”

Avatar photoJ. Michael Hemsley

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There are three people who you acknowledge as important to the marque when you see a Rolls-Royce. There is Charles Stewart Rolls, Henry Royce, and Eleanor Thornton. Who is Eleanor Thornton, you ask? Well, she is the “Spirit of Ecstasy,” more about that her later, since her significant contribution to “The Best Car in the World” comes a bit later than those of Royce or Rolls.

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J. Michael Hemsley
J. Michael Hemsley has written about motorsports and automotive history for some 40 years, drawing on a first career as a US Army officer and ocean scientist. For Vintage Roadcar and Sports Car Digest he contributes car profiles and feature stories, often on Alfa Romeo, Porsche, Lotus, Shelby, Lancia and British sports cars, along with coverage of the Highlands Motoring Festival, Chattanooga Motorcar Festival and Mille Miglia. He photographs many of his own subjects and first watched Formula One and sports car racing in Europe in the late 1960s while stationed in Germany. His work also appears on Stuttcars and Supercars.net. In the Sports Car Digest archive: 160 stories, 2012–2026.
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