It is indeed incredible that this most unusual experimental car emanatedfrom the drawing boards of Rolls-Royce Limited, a conservative carmaker if everthere was one. No, the Rolls-Royce Phantom I 17EX wasn’t the flamboyant flightof fancy of an eccentric client, but a project commissioned by Mr Conservativehimself, Sir Henry Royce.

Why did Royce want such a special car made? What became of it since?What intriguing journeys it undertook? And how it found its present abode? Thisbook is about all that, and about the tales and anecdotes from the life andtimes of Rolls-Royce’s most special, its association with royalty, celebritiesand enthusiasts.

Gautam Sen, widely acknowledged as the leading automotive journalist andwriter in India, has done extensive research and been afforded unique access tothe families that have owned 17EX at various points of time. Other than beingin touch with the grandson of the Maharaja of Kashmir, 17EX’s first owner, Senknows very well the son of the second owner, P K Mitter of Calcutta, and thefamily of Protap Roy who ‘rediscovered’ the car in the 1960s. Victor Muller andAlexander Schaufler, the two most recent owners of 17EX are also known to Senand all of them have come forth in providing valuable archival material andinformation. The result is an authoritative and visually impressive story thatnot only tells the tale of a very special car, but also provides an insightinto the privileged lives of the top tier of Indian society.

The book answers questions like: Why was Sir Frederick Henry Royce sodesperate to get his cars to go at 100mph? Why did Bentley’s Le Mans victoriesirk Royce so much? What common thread links Malcolm Campbell, the Blue Bird,the Maharaja of Kashmir and some million dollar cars in Calcutta? All of thisand some more come together in this book that recounts the wondrous journey of theone and only 17EX woven with tales of very special people, of spectacularcountries across continents and of over eight decades of automotive history.

Rolls-Royce 17EX A Fabulous Destiny is about the raison d’être of this car, the ‘making of’ it and thefabulous destiny that awaited it.

The Author

Gautam Sen is accredited as the leading automotive journalist in India,having founded the country’s first car magazine Indian Auto in 1986. In1993 he launched Auto India, which became India’s best-selling carmagazine and later the Indian editions of auto motor und sport and theBBC’s TopGear magazine. Since 2007 he has been back in the driver’s seatat Auto India and divides his time between Paris, where his familylives, and Mumbai. Other books written by Sen include: The Maharajas &Their Magnificent Motor Cars, The Story of The Star in India and The CarDesign Book.

Publisher: Gautam Sen

Status: Out of Print (No Stock)

Number of pages: 124

Colour images: 50

Black & white images: 50

Binding: HBD

Language: English

Origin: India