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1979 Rolls Royce 4 Door Silver Wraith ll
Retired from UK Embassy - Washington DC

Armored Bomb, Bulletproof & Gasproof Rolls Royce
Protected Princess Diana and Prince Charles

This vehicle was part of the world famous
weaponry collection of Farley L. Berman

LOW RESERVE

This auction includes considerable detailed
information about this one-of-a-kind Rolls Royce.

Great care has been taken to include photos and facts relevant to this vehicle. The first section deals with documentation and owner history of the car. This section is followed by information relevant to the vehicle itself, such as weight, armor, etc.

Links in this ad will open in a new browser window, so you wont lose your place here. (You may need to turn off any popup blockers you are using.) We believe the information contained within this auction will answer most questions you may have.

Important note: The successful winning bidder must complete the $1,000.00 (US) partial payment within 24 hours after winning this auction as stated below.

 

Description

You are bidding on this unique armored Embassy 1979 Rolls Royce that is being auctioned by us as agent on behalf of the present owner who is a private collector.

Opportunities are truly rare for the general public to purchase one of the few armored vehicles in service with a British Embassy, especially one that has the historic logged documentation of use by Prince Charles and Princess Diana, among other dignitaries. The price paid for a similar vehicle like this was $100,000, as shown in the next photo.

Mr. Farley L. Berman (more) owned one of the worlds most extensive private collections of historic weaponry. Included with the purchase of this Rolls Royce are documents from his estate that show this 1979 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith ll was purchased by the Embassy of the United Kingdom in Washington DC in 1979, used by the Royal Family, then purchased by Mr. Farley directly from the Embassy.

 

 

According to records, this Rolls Royce was not put into service by the British Embassy until 1982, because almost three years were required to make this Rolls Royce armored against bombs and small arms at a cost of over $200,000.00. The windows were gas tight. Concealed speakers are located outside the car for people inside to talk to people outside without opening a door. A standard Rolls Royce weighs in about 5,000 pounds - this car with armor about 10,000 pounds.

All vehicle ownership documents shown below are included with this vehicle sale, and will go with this Rolls Royce to the successful high bidder.

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Shown below is the US Department of State vehicle title showing the registered owner of this Rolls Royce as the Embassy of the United Kingdom in Washington DC.

 

This Bulletproof/Gasproof 1979 Rolls Royce was first used by the Royal Family on the dates November 5th 1985 through November 11th, 1985 on Diana and Charles first official visit to the USA (verified in Embassy Diplomatic Service Transport Log Book - see below).

The original Vehicle Embassy log book included in this sale is shown above.

 

The entry for the Royal visit shown above.

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This Rolls Royce was used to protect Prince Charles and Princess Diana on their first visit to the United States White House (during the dates shown above), and used by Prince Charles again on a visit to the USA on November 2nd through 5th, 1988 (also recorded in the log book, shown below). Included in the Diplomatic Transport log book are all entries vehicle use by the State Department, and the detailed maintenance performed while owned by the British Embassy.

 

On arrival Princess Diana and Prince Charles were picked up at Andrews Air Force base in Washington on Tuesday Nov 5th, 1985, driven to an official welcome at the White House by the President (Ronald Reagan) and the First Lady (Nancy Reagan), then taken to the official home of British Ambassador, Sir Oliver Wright, where they stayed during their first US visit.

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During the visit at the White House gala dinner Princess Diana in her midnight blue velvet dress and sapphire and diamond choker, danced with John Travolta. The Royal Couple mixed with movie stars such as Clint Eastwood, Tom Selleck and the singer Neil Diamond. Charles and Dianas trip sparked off a serious case of "royal fever" across the USA. AUDIO BROADCAST: BBC Radio: "Most of the attention centered on the princess"

 

Princess Diana and First Lady Nancy Reagan visited hospice. The Royal Couple attended the morning service at Washington Cathedral, then visited the National Gallery of Art to see "The Treasure Houses of Britain: Five hundred years of private patronage and art collecting." Thousands of enthusiastic Americans turned out to catch a glimpse of the motorcade with Prince Charles and Princess Diana in this Rolls Royce.

The Royal Couple visited a Springfield shopping mall in Virginia to see the "Best of Britain" promotion at JC Penney department store. On Monday (Veterans' Day 1985), Prince Charles visited Arlington National Cemetery to lay wreaths to war heroes. The Royal Couple's safety on all their travels was assured by the very Embassy Rolls Royce in this auction!

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When this Rolls Royce was retired from use by the British Embassy, Washington DC, it was purchased by Farley Berman, 2nd owner. Mr Farley, now deceased, founded the 25,000squarefoot Berman Museum of World History, which is the worlds most extensive private collection of historic weaponry. It is located next to the Anniston Museum of Natural History. Farley L Berman residing in Anniston, AL acquired this Rolls Royce from the British Embassy and used it for his personal safety, shown below in an Emory magazine article.

The Berman Museum of World History displays the collections of Farley L. and Germaine K. Berman, who served in counterintelligence during World War II and collected artifacts for more than 70 years. There are some six thousand items in the Berman collection, which published reports have valued at $100 million. This Rolls was one of his most valued items.

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Title above shows Farley L Bermans ownership of this armored Rolls Royce

 

The actual mileage at present is 53,308 miles

 

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Now we begin the second section
with details about the Rolls Royce

In addition to the numerous photos below, you can find additional photos here.

ESTIMATED ARMOURED ROLLS ROYCE REPLACEMENT COST Great care was taken when this car was being armored by Sleeman Engineering in England to make this car look exactly like a regular street car. About three years was required to make the car fully armored against bombs and small arms, at a cost in 1979, of over $200,000.00. Bulletproof vehicles made today are simply bulletproof only. This vehicle was built to a much higher level of personal safety armor protection. This vehicle was built to protect against hand grenades, small bombs, gas bombs, and well as bullets. The bulletproof panel inserts for the doors (are included with the purchase), and can be reinstalled. The original armored glass in the front and rear windshield is intact. The side doors original armor glass has been replaced with a regular glass for everyday driving. Otherwise that we are aware of, all other protective vehicle armour originally installed remains intact. If you are the winning bidder and desire to restore this unit to 100% armor protection (at your expense), we'd be delighted to help you arrange to professionally reinstall the included door armor inserts and add back in armored side glass in the doors. To reinstall the included door armor panels and add new armor glass in the side doors with today's bulletproof materials, the cost would be minimal as compared to 1979 cost of materials. Enclosed with the documentation is a letter from 2nd owner Mr. Berman, the world-renowned arms expert. The letter states the estimated replacement cost for this armored bulletproof and gasproof Rolls Royce would be approximately $500,000.00.

The Engine Compartment

In the center console in the front seat is the original British Embassy telephone

The foot rests shown are removable.