Rolls-Royce 17EX (1928)

Rolls-Royce 17EX

Rolls-Royce's experimental motor cars of the 1920s - known as the 'EX' models and distinguished by their distinctive red badges - rank among the rarest and most desirable cars in the marque's long history. Among these prototypes, 17EX stands out as one of the most significant.

Built in 1928 at the height of the Jazz Age, just three years after the Art Deco movement received its name, 17EX was created by Henry Royce and his engineers. They took a powerful Phantom chassis and cloaked it in a lightweight aluminium body to push the boundaries of performance.

Designed to exceed 90 miles per hour, 17EX featured a striking torpedo-shaped form that perfectly embodied Royce's bold ambition: an imposing scale, an exceptionally long bonnet, a shallow windscreen, and a snug, enveloping cabin with the driver and companion seated deep within the bodywork.